A New Life
by Anonymous Latino
Summary: Following the events from the story, 'Helga's Transference', Helga and Rodrigo begin their relationship...as a couple! What challenges await them? Is Helga finally over Arnold? How will this relationship differ from the one with Arnold? And, will this last?
1. Chapter 1 - Boyfriend and Girlfriend

**Hi everyone! I am back, with more stories of Hey Arnold! This time we look into Rodrigo's and Helga relationship, as a couple!**

**BEFORE CONTINUING ON, PLEASE READ MY NOTES!**

**THE FIRST 14 CHAPTERS of this story take place right after the events from my previous two stories, 'Helga's Transference' and 'Helga's Confession', BUT it takes place before the main event that leads up to my other story, 'Arnold's Legacy.'**

**SPOILERS! For those of you who haven't yet read my previous stories, I recommend that you read 'Helga's Transference' and 'Helga's Confession' first before reading this one, although it is not necessary for you to read them in order to understand what is happening.**

**However, just in case, here is a short summary:**

**It was September and Rodrigo just moved to Hillwood during the summer and began going to the same high school that Helga and everyone else was going. Arnold had moved away since the eighth grade, leaving Helga on her own. Although no one yet knows it, they have broken up. Anyways, Rodrigo meets Helga and the gang and although he becomes friends with everyone, he butts heads with Helga. Eventually they warm up to each other and help each other out. Helga begins to develop feelings for him and eventually confesses to everyone about her relationship with Arnold and eventually her feelings for Rodrigo. They start dating.**

**There is A LOT more details than what I just gave, such as how does Arnold find Helga's newfound feelings for this Latino kid? Also, how close is Helga to everyone else, including Phoebe? If you want to know more, please read my previous stories.**

**Certain references about my other story, 'Arnold's Legacy' will also be present in this story.**

**I do not own any of the Hey Arnold! Characters. These are the creation of Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. **

* * *

**Saturday and Sunday...**

Throughout that entire weekend, Helga was still reeling from that past week's events. To say that it was a dramatic scene was an understatement, which is why she felt so relieved to finally put it behind her. As she continued to lay in her bed, letting her mind wonder from thought to thought, she still wondered how she managed to get through it all. She thought it was going to break her, she thought she wouldn't be able to go through with what she did.

And yet, Fortuna seemed to have finally smiled upon her and gave her the strength and reliance that she was often famous for and she triumphed! She did what she thought she never could, what she thought was a hopeless endeavour but simultaneously, was not willing, or able for that matter, to even give it a try. Helga, for once in her entire life, was actually looking forward to tomorrow, very, very much. To her good fortune, mental health and future, she could now finally move on...without her former beloved football head.

Arnold had only returned to San Lorenzo this Saturday after spending a week in Hillwood. The first two days since his arrival were...let's just say that it took their toll for Helga, Arnold and Rodrigo, not to mentioned that it nearly ruined Arnold's visit, the first since he left Hillwood almost three years ago. The rest of his visit was, less dramatic, sufficient for Arnold to finally enjoy his remaining time in Hillwood with his friends, which awkwardly included Rodrigo and Helga. Nevertheless, all three teens made the best of it and stood by Arnold to make his visit worthwhile. Rodrigo made peace with Arnold and ensured that no lasting animosities were created between them.

But now that Arnold left, Helga was finally able to focus on the task at hand; officially start dating Rodrigo Castile de la Serna. Helga wasted no time in informing everyone that they were now dating. Yes, she made that announcement at the worst possible time, but she nevertheless did it.

By the time Sunday rolled around, Helga was surprised at how happy she felt, so much so that she could hardly contain her excitement. Although Helga was relaxing on her bed, busy flipping through any magazine or books that came her way, her mind was already racing for what lied ahead the next day.

Unable to contain her fantasy, she already imagined the thrill and euphoric feeling of having to finally hold Rodrigo's hand affectionally, without any more fear or reservation. No, she was in it for the long haul and she had no intention of doing this half-assed. The more she imagined herself being closer to Rodrigo, the most excited she became. Indeed, not since when she was with Arnold has she felt this excited. It had been a long journey for her to finally admit her feelings for the Latino kid and to pursue them, but it had finally arrived. It was a good thing that she was in alone in her room. She thought she was probably be behaving like a little kid in a candy store.

As her mind continued tickling her fancy on having to kiss Rodrigo for the first time in school, she giggled at the thought. She then thought about all the possible dates and adventures that they can do and experience together.

_We can take long walks at the park, or have a fabulous romantic dinner downtown on a Friday or Saturday._ She thought excitedly. _No wait, perhaps go to the beach. Nah, don't want get a sunburn. What about going to the movies and just relaxing? Who needs all that high class romantic stuff when we can just go watch a good movie...and perhaps have a little make out session._ She continued to think with a big smile on her face.

Indeed, she had been busy fantasizing about being with Rodrigo that she had not thought about Arnold that entire weekend, much to her relief! It was just further proof to her that she made the right decision and thus far, was not regretting it.

As her mind continued on with such sweet, romantic, happy, fanciful thoughts, they soon started drifting towards more...long-term ones. Helga soon began to imagine what it would be like if; hopefully, things became more serious with Rodrigo.

_I wonder if we would be able to go to the same college?_ She thought. _Perhaps that is something that we will need to discuss soon and make sure we don't study too far apart._

Pretty soon, her mind then drifted even further, beyond college, somewhere more marital...

_Hmm, I wonder if he would look good in a black tuxedo or in a white tux for our wedding..._

And that's when her mind, not only immediately came hitting against a brick wall, but it actively began to reverse course her entire emotional state and affection towards Rodrigo. Almost immediately Helga began to feel that her emotions were heavily resisting at even the thought of her replacing a future with Arnold for Rodrigo. To counter that, and not by choice, she instantly began to feel anger against the Latino kid, as if it was somehow his fault, as if he did something wrong to her. Helga instantly got up from her bed and tried desperately to cease feeling her growing sense of anger and resentment, but she was unable to. It actually got worse. Pretty soon, she began to feel complete resentment towards Rodrigo and was on the verge of...hating him! She could feel her blood boiling, getting angrier and angrier at the very thought that HE would ever be worthy enough to EVER replace her beloved football head.

"Whoa, whoa whoa, what is happening to me?!" She yelled as she got up from her bed, trying not to freak out from the instant change of emotions that she feeling, but it was no use. She completely lost control of her mind and her own emotions and ended up taking a life of their own.

Helga desperately walked around in her room, trying to take deep breaths and clear her mind from everything and just have a blank slate.

_Just take deep breaths, Helga. Just like how Dr. Bliss showed you. Breath in...breath out...breath in...breath out. Just free your mind from the burden, think of nothing else._ She thought to herself calmly.

She hoped that would calm her down, but it was having no effect and she felt that she was getting even angrier. Soon, whatever positive emotional feelings she had for him had completely disappeared, only to replace them with anger, resentment and vengeance!

_Crimeny, nothing's working! I have to do something or else I feel I'm going to explode!_ She thought in serious frustration.

Finally, no longer able to take this, Helga desperately ran out of her room, went into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, instantly undressed herself, hopped into the bathtub and turned on the shower for cold water to fall down on her.

"Jeez, that's cold! Whoa!" She yelled, as she instantly back away from the cold water, but she accidently ended up slipping and falling down on the tub, nearly hitting her head.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Honey, are you ok? I heard thump, like something fell." Miriam asked from outside.

"Uh ya I'm alright mom, thanks! Just asking a shower. Nothing fell." Helga called out as calmly as she could.

"Well, ok." Miriam before she walked away.

Despite the extreme cold that her entire body was feeling, she continued to lie there and let the cold water touch her entire, exposed body, hoping if this will do the trick. It did. Pretty soon, with her mind now occupied by the fall and the cold shower, she felt herself calming down. As the minutes passed, her emotional stated started to gain some sense of stability. Once she felt comfortable, she got up, adjusted the water temperature and took a shower. She needed one anyways.

Fifteen minutes later, Helga got out of the shower, dried herself with a towel, put on a towel over her head and made her way back to her room.

"Sheesh, what the hell was that?!" She exclaimed as she entered her room and slammed the door closed.

"Why did I suddenly start experiencing all those negative emotions towards Rodrigo?! They came out of nowhere! Or did they?"

"Hmm, I remember feeling excited about tomorrow and finally starting my relationship with Rodrigo." She said to herself as she walked around her room, deep in thought. "I began to fantasize about him and what we could together, where we can go."

As she continued walking around in her room, she dried herself with the towel around her body before then walking to her closet to look for some clothes to put on.

"Up until that point, it was all nice and well. But then, I started thinking about things being long-term with him, about going to college together and then possibly..."

And what when it hit her, that's when she realized what had occurred while she put on her underwear and jeans.

"You have to be kidding me?!" She exclaimed as she frowned. "Am I telling myself that although I am able to fantasize about being with Rodrigo on a short-term basis, I am completely unable to even consider the possibility of being with him over a long-term basis?"

Helga furiously stomped around as she put one a shirt, took out the towel that was wrapped around her head and began to aggressively comb her long blonde hair.

"Ugh, I can't believe it! I thought things were suppose to be easier and I could move on with my life. I said 'no' to Arnold, even when he offered to go and live with him, I still refused! What more do I have to do to get away from him!" She exclaimed furiously as she combing to combing her hair, almost to the point of pulling it.

"Even now, I can't fantasize about anyone lest it is about him. It's a miracle that I was even able to do it on a short-term basis."

As soon as she was done combing her hair, she sighed and threw herself back onto her bed and lied down, frustrated and completely tired.

"Why can't I move on?" She lamented. "Am I destined to forever let him cast his great football headed shadow over me, to forever be reminded of him, to always think about how he can always make my little girlhood tinkle? Am I destined to never move on and be nothing more than a mere puppet to his whims?"

"Nein!" She exclaimed as she shot right back up with a determined face. "I can't think that way. I can move on and I will. It's not just for my sake, but also for Rodrigo's. I have to do it, at least for him. I chose him as my boyfriend. Well, I didn't exactly choose him, I like him, but that's beside the point. I have to at least try, but how?"

Helga took a deep breath and then calmly thought about this.

"Ok, so I am able to fantasize about him on a short-term basis, like having a romantic dinner with him, going on date, kissing him, blah, blah, etc., etc. I was even able to think about going to the same college. So far, all is good. I guess I just need to take baby steps. I mean, why should I fantasize about possibly...errr being maarr...marri.. Jeez, I can't even say it! But that's ok. All in due time. This is probably a good thing. Unlike with Arnold, I don't have to get ahead of myself. I don't need to. He is not going anywhere; at least I don't think he is." She continued.

"He'd better not!" She angrily exclaimed. "I'll bury him alive on Elk Island if he ever leaves Hillwood, or me! I'm not going through that again!"

Helga stopped herself and just took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

"I should just enjoy the present," She continued, this time calmly, "and just focus on the now and not have to worry about the future. After all, how can I think about the future when we haven't even built a solid present and past foundation in our relationship yet?"

Helga again took another deep breath, relieved that she was able to come up with a possible solution to this.

"Ok, that's what I need to focus on; the present. I'll just take baby steps and in time, I know I can beat this. Phew! Had myself worried there for a second." She said to herself confidently.

She then looked at the time and realized that it was getting late.

"Damn it, I'd better get going! I promised Phoebe that I would meet up with her later today." She said as she jumped out of her bed and ran outside her room to meet up with her best friend.

**Meanwhile...**

While Helga was in deep thought over how to overcome her apparently still obsessive feelings over Arnold, Rodrigo was also thinking in deep thought. It was now Sunday and tomorrow will be his first official first day in being Helga G. Pataki's boyfriend. No pressure, right?

_Jeez, why am I so nervous about this?!_ He exclaimed in thought. _It's not even Monday yet and I'm already sweating like a pig. How will I be tomorrow? I have to calm down. I'm only dating Helga, I'm not marrying her._

Yet despite trying to calm down, he wasn't able to.

_Ugh, I know why I'm so nervous._ He continued to think. _This is my first real relationship with someone and I don't want to screw it up. I want to do everything right. That alone is already pressure enough, but now I have to also deal with Helga and her still having feelings for Arnold. I know she will eventually move on, but it will take time. I have to patient and considerate about this. This is not something that should be taken lightly and I know that it is also hard for her. I just hope I'm able to be there for her and help her with that instead of making it worse._

As he continued in thought, Rodrigo focused on the task at hand, remembering why he was at Slausen's Ice Cream Parlor.

After Arnold left, Rodrigo had called Gerald and asked to meet him at Slausen's on Sunday. Although Rodrigo was rather vague as to why he wanted to see him, Gerald nevertheless agreed.

Rodrigo arrived at the parlor just a few minutes earlier than their schedule time, so he didn't have to wait long for Gerald to arrive.

Gerald entered the parlor, shivering after having to walk from his place to the parlor.

"Man, it's cold out there!" He exclaimed as he walked towards where Rodrigo was sitting.

"I don't know why you asked us to meet up in an ice cream parlor with a weather as bad as that He said as he pointed outside.

"Sorry Gerald, but I wanted us to meet somewhere a bit private," Rodrigo explained, "which is why I figured that with the weather like that, no one would really want to go for an ice cream parlor. But if you are really cold, they serve hot beverages."

"Good, I'm going to get some hot chocolate." Gerald said as he made his way to the counter to order his beverage.

Rodrigo patiently and rather nervously waited for Gerald to get his order and then sit down with him. He had invited him today to speak to him for several reasons.

Finally, Gerald got his hot chocolate, paid for it, then went to sit down with Rodrigo.

"Thanks for meeting up with me today, Gerald." Rodrigo said with a small smile.

"No worries man. So what's all this about?" He asked as he took a small sip from his hot beverage.

"Well," Rodrigo began to talk nervously, "I asked to meet up with you for a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" He asked.

"About what happened between Arnold, myself and Helga." He said. "I just wanted you to know that I never meant hurt him, nor did I ever mean to steal his girlfriend away from him. I never meant for any of this to happen, Gerald. I mean, I never saw it coming. It just...happened. And please don't be angry at Helga for what she did. She bore the full brunt of this. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't anybody's fault. If you want to blame someone than let it be me..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down, man." Gerald interrupted him. "You don't have to say sorry about what happened last week. Ok sure, you guys should have really communicated with each other better instead of jumping into conclusions, but no one blames anyone over what happened between you three, not even me."

"You don't?" Rodrigo asked.

"Look, man." Gerald began to talk as he adjusted himself on his seat. "I'll admit, I was surprised when Helga suddenly blurted out that you guys were dating, in front of everyone, including Arnold. But despite that, I'm happy for the both of you."

"You are?" Rodrigo asked surprisingly.

"Well yeah." He responded. "Other than Arnold, what better person is there for Helga to be with than with you?"

"So, you're not mad?" Rodrigo asked.

"No, I'm not. And neither is Phoebe." He responded. "You and Helga didn't hurt Arnold. You even gave up your chance to be with Helga, just so she can get back together with Arnold. How could I be mad at you after that? That takes guts kid, and boldness. And remember, he broke up with her before he left. I feel for the poor guy and I don't blame him for wanting to get back together with Helga, but I also can't fully support him either, especially since Helga made her choice on who she wants to be with, which is now you. I can't force Helga to get back together with Arnold; she would clobber me."

"If anything," he continued with a chuckle, "I should be saying sorry to you."

"For what?" Rodrigo asked.

"For getting upset at both of you when you guys were getting a bit too close to each other during these last few months and for thinking that Helga was cheating on Arnold. I didn't know that they broke up beforehand. Arnold never told anyone of us, so I just figured I had a responsibility to defend him if I felt that someone was trying to 'steal' his girlfriend. That's why I confronted you after the school dance. Had I known they broke up, I never would have butted in. Heck, I may even have helped you two get together sooner."

"So, you're ok with us dating?" Rodrigo nervously asked.

"Ya, I am and so is Phoebe. We feel bad for Arnold, but I know the kid and he will bounce back from this soon." He responded back.

"Thanks, Gerald." Rodrigo said with a smile, feeling relieved.

"No worries." He said as he took another sip from his hot chocolate.

Although happy for Helga, Gerald was not really sure on how to feel about this. He didn't want another Arnold and Helga scenario and he certainly did not want to be heavily involved into Rodrigo and Helga's relationship as he felt compelled to do so last time. He initially thought about asking Rodrigo to do him a favour and have not include him into helping him salvage his relationship with Helga whenever they would probably get into an inevitable argument. However, he decided against asking him to do that, thinking that it was too mean and selfish. Besides, Rodrigo will probably need all the help he can get and it's not like Phoebe will not want to help them out, thereby dragging him along for the ride.

_But, who knows?_ Gerald thought. _Perhaps things will be different between them._

"Now, what's the other reason why you wanted to meet up?" Gerald asked.

"Well," Rodrigo began to say as he looked at his watch, "I also wanted to ask you for some pointers on being in a relationship, especially with Helga."

_Oh jeez,_ Gerald thought annoyingly, _I thought too soon. They didn't even 'officially' start dating yet and already the poor kid is in trouble._

"But," Rodrigo continued, "I'm waiting for another person to join us. He should be here soon."

"Who?" Gerald asked, but before Rodrigo could answer, that person just walked into the parlor.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Harold said as he walked towards them.

"Hey Harold." Rodrigo greeted him.

"Man!" Gerald exclaimed with surprised. "You sure timed this meeting well. Hey Harold."

"What meeting?" Harold asked as he sat down.

"I wanted to talk to Gerald about something before we met up with you." Rodrigo explained. "But now that both of you are here, I need your help."

"Look, I'll be honest," Rodrigo began to explain. "This is my first real relationship. I've never dated anyone before, so I'm a little bit in the dark on how to move forward with this. I asked to meet up with you both because both of you have experience in dating. But just as importantly, you both have experience in dating the two girls that used to be your friends."

"I know being in a relationship with any person can have its challenges," Rodrigo continued, "but seeing as how I'm with Helga, I don't want to say that she can be a difficult person to deal with sometimes...but I have no other way to really describe it so yeah, she can be difficult sometimes. I just want make sure that I'm prepared, so I'm asking you both for some pointers."

Both Gerald and Harold were a bit taken back by Rodrigo's request to help him. Indeed, this is a guy who is usually known for knowing what to do in almost any situation, with little need to ask for help. Yet nevertheless, they opted to help him.

"Well," Harold began to talk first, "it's a bit hard to know when Patty and I stopped becoming friends and became a couple. I mean, when I look back, we became friends really fast and almost from the start, I felt I wanted to hang out with her because I thought she was nice and a sweet person. You know, once you get to know her. But I'm not sure if I started 'like' liking her from the start or if I just liked her as a friend."

"Same with me." Gerald then began to talk. "Since the fourth grade, I would flirt with Phoebe every now and then and I would even ask her out, but at that time, I didn't know if that constituted as a date, or as friends. We really didn't think much about it and just focused on spending time with each other, regardless if we were dating or just hanging out. We were kids back then, so it was hard to know what we were feeling at the time."

"But when it became clear that you guys started liking them and they liked you back and you officially started dating, how was the transition?"

"It was strange." Harold began to explain. "We had to change how we saw ourselves, from mere friends to something...more. Plus there was also the change in the way that we behaved. You know, the holding hands and the way we looked at each other. It made us a bit nervous and there were times when we found it hard to try and express how we felt about each other, for fear of what the other person would think."

"Oh ya, I remember those days." Gerald added. "Once Phoebe and I started dating, we also had to change the way we saw each other and how we behaved. Because it was our first relationship, it was hard to know what aspects of our relationship do we feel needed to be changed and what doesn't really need to."

"It was trial by error, really." Harold interjected. "You just have to go with the flow and talk to each other about what makes you both comfortable."

"Ya, it's different between couples." Gerald added. "Some may feel comfortable doing a complete overhaul of their relationship, while others are only happy with some small amount of change. It just depends on how both people feel about it."

"How was it before that awkwardness faded?" Rodrigo asked.

"Um, it depends." Gerald responded. "For me at least, I feel it was only a few months before I felt comfortable."

"It was a bit longer for me." Harold added. "Patty became more comfortable before I did. It took me almost half a year to feel comfortable. I wasn't really used to feeling this...lovey dovey, so it took me some time."

"But you have an advantage, Rodrigo." Gerald said to him.

"How?" Rodrigo asked.

"Unlike Phoebe and Patty, Helga already has experience in dating. She knows what it feels like to be in a first relationship, so I'm sure she will try and make the process smoother for you and help you out as well."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Rodrigo said. "Knowing Helga, she will probably use that to her advantage. Plus her last relationship wasn't particularly 'stable', so I'm nervous as to how things will work out between us."

"Oh come on," Gerald said. "Helga's relationship with Arnold wasn't that bad. I know that we told you about all the ups and downs they had and the arguments, but it was never as bad as we said it was."

"It wasn't?" Rodrigo asked.

"Nah uh." Gerald responded. "There were just as many occasions, if not more, where Helga and Arnold were completely at peace with each other. Even the times when they didn't see eye to eye, in most cases, it wasn't serious. They bickered a bit, but often it never got out of hand."

"And besides," Harold interjected, "Helga and Arnold were inexperienced in dating, so like everyone else, they had to constantly work at it."

"Look man," Gerald reassured him, "I know Helga can be a difficult person to deal with, but she is also a very smart gal. I'm sure that she learned some of the mistakes that she and Arnold made in their relationship and she will not want to repeat those same mistakes with you."

"And also," Harold interjected, "you should talk to her about how you feel, just so she is aware of it. You're going to have to anyways, so you might as well, even if she is not always the easiest person to talk to."

"Like in any relationship, it will take time and patience." Gerald added. "But you also need to remember to just enjoy it. It's not all about being rational and strategic. Fights and arguments will happen, that is inevitable. Sometimes the best way to counter them is to just enjoy each other's company."

"Yeah, don't bother trying to be someone you are not. Just be yourself." Harold added.

"Thanks guys." Rodrigo said with smile. "That's great advice. I'll keep all of this in mind."

**Monday...**

As the bus drove the students towards their school that morning, Rodrigo sat quietly. Despite his talk with Gerald and Harold the day before, he still felt nervous, which is why he opted to ride the bus alone. He had texted everyone that he will be going to school a bit early that day and will meet them there. As much as he was excited about starting his relationship with Helga, he also just as nervous about it, which made him all that more anxious.

Upon arrival, he calmly made his way towards his locker, grabbing all the necessary textbooks for the morning classes. As soon as he was done, he grabbed the locker door and was about to close it when he felt that someone was watching him. Realizing who it might be, he smiled, closed his locker, revealing Helga who was standing behind it, patiently waiting for him...and hoping to startle him.

"Morning." She said with a rather cheerful a smile.

"Morning Helga" Rodrigo replied back.

"I see I didn't startle you this time." Helga remarked with a smirk.

"Nope." He replied back. "But I'm sure that's not going to deter you from trying again."

"You know me too well, Latino Boy." She said.

Then, an awkward silence was starting to develop between them as they nervously looked at each other. Neither of them knew what else to say, or what action either of them felt they needed to take. Should they kiss? Why not? They've already done it before. Should they just hold hands? What?

Despite his nervousness, Rodrigo then confidently decided to take the first step and offered his hand, which Helga, without hesitation, gladly accepted and held it. Rodrigo then courteously kissed hers.

"Oh don't get all mushy on me, Latino Boy," Helga retorted.

"Why? Is it having its effect on you?" Rodrigo asked with a smile.

"...A bit." Helga responded shyly.

"Come, let me walk you to class." He said.

"Whatever floats your boat." She casually responded, as they both walked down the hallway, holding each other's hand.

When lunchtime came, Rodrigo and Helga decided to have their lunch somewhere more...private, away from prying eyes. As they walked to have their lunch, Helga noticed that Rodrigo was still a bit nervous and despite holding her hand, was reluctantly keeping his distance. She could tell that although he wanted to be closer to her, he knew her well enough to know that she was never really a touchy, nor a publically affectionate person. Rodrigo for his part, was kind of the opposite, but he was having a hard time trying to balance that out.

After walking a bit, they a found cozy area in the lunchroom where they can eat quietly and alone. They sat down, opened their lunches and began to eat, with Rodrigo still being a bit distant.

Although completely enjoying their time alone, it was not enough for Helga. No, she wanted to be physically close to him. She was yearning for it all weekend and she didn't care what other people thought about them. However, she soon realized that, given his inexperience and naivety, she would have to initiate things, as always as she silently rolled her eyes.

Yet, despite her desire in wanting to feel closer, she was also hesitating and growing a bit nervous. Although no stranger to dating, she had to come to terms with the impossible reality that she was now dating someone other than Arnold, something that she still had difficulty wrapping her head around and that was making her nervous.

_Oh jeez, stop moping around Helga and just do it already!_ She thought to herself. _Take the plunge! You have been wanting to do it all weekend!_

Deciding to it, without thinking it any longer, she then suddenly, but gently leaned against Rodrigo, then grabbed his arm and put it around her, much to his surprise.

_Oh man, how I missed this._ She thought to herself as she immediately grew comfortable being so close to him, even smiling a bit and sighed.

_It feels so nice, so loving. It makes me feel so...happy and safe._ She continued to think.

She then used her free hand to continue holding Rodrigo 's hand that was around her and used her other hand to hold her sandwich and continue eating.

Rodrigo, although initially shocked, quickly got out of it, cracked a smile and simply leaned his head against the top of Helga's head, but not enough to push her down and continued eating his lunch.

Finally, things settled down a bit and both teens just quietly and affectionally ate their lunch while in full bliss.

Helga was especially enjoying it. Having virtually isolated herself from any intimate contact with others for years, she yearned to once again feel the humanly contact of having someone affectionally hold her, acknowledging her existence and enjoying being with a person whom she really liked it. It was indeed euphoric for her and she was enjoying every minute of it and smiling throughout. Throughout their time, Helga constantly snuggled with Rodrigo, indicating to him that she was really enjoying this sensational, loving comfort. Rodrigo said nothing and simply reciprocated by holding her even more tightly with his arm.

Throughout their lunch time, both teens said nothing to each other. Nothing really needed to be said. Whatever they wanted to say, they did it through physical affection. Even when they finished their lunch, both teens didn't move a muscle and simply continued holding on to each other. Nothing was said, nothing else was done.

Helga was so into it that after she finished her lunch, for the second time, she almost fell asleep under his arm, although she managed to keep herself awake...mostly to continually enjoy her time with Rodrigo.

Finally the bell rang, bringing both teens back to reality and much to their chagrins.

"Ugh, it's over already?" Helga complained.

"Yeah, but don't worry." Rodrigo said to her. "We can continue this after school."

Helga just smiled. "Good, we better because I was enjoying this." She remarked.

Rodrigo kept his word. After school, both teens, along with their friends, made their way towards the bus lane. Once it arrived, everyone started hopping inside. Rodrigo and Helga quickly made their way inside the bus and found two seats where they can continue with their loving silence, away from their friends.

As the bus started moving, Rodrigo, having more confidence, wrapped his arm around Helga as soon as she sat down beside him. Although initially surprised by his sudden assertiveness, she made no attempt to resist and simply leaned against him, sighed and closed her eyes.

_Peace, absolute peace_. She happily thought. _Finally..._

Rodrigo would occasionally kiss the top of her head or her forehead, but tried not to disturb her, who was completely mesmerized by it all. As far both teens were concerned, the universe was not their concern, only each other.

While Rodrigo and Helga continued with their loving silence, their friends looked on with astonishment on their faces. Although the couple sat far away from them, it was not far enough that they were not able to see everything. Indeed, their friends were especially surprised at how Helga was behaving. Although happy for her, it was a bit strange to see her this peaceful, smiling, especially for this long. Rather sadly, they had gotten used to her stern and often frowning face. Moreover, they were a bit perplexed to see Helga be this much affectionate in public.

Even more strange was that something was missing; her hat! She was no longer wearing that big blue hat that she used to wear almost every day for almost three years. And unbeknownst to everyone, her pink bow, the real reason why wore that big blue hat in the first place, was also not present. They were now gone, revealing her golden, blonde hair. The only thing that she retained was her famous two pigtails.

"Gosh, I've never seen Helga be so downright lovey dovey in public before." Stinky commented.

"Ya, I can't recall ever seeing her this affectionate when she was with Arnold." Sid added.

"I think it is ever so adorable and romantic." Lila interjected. "Helga no doubt deserves to be happy."

"Do you think maybe Helga likes Rodrigo more than she did Arnold?" Harold asked.

"No, she doesn't." Rhonda suddenly interjected into the conversation. "At least, not yet."

Although busy texting someone, Rhonda would occasionally take a peek at the two teens who stood idly still, completely immersed with each other.

"It's pretty obvious why Helga is being so affectionate with Rodrigo, and it is not because she likes him more than she did Arnold." She continued while still texting away.

"What do you mean?" Harold asked.

"Helga has been on her own for almost three years, shunning away from any form of intimate contact." She began to explain. "Under those circumstances, it would have driven anyone crazy and if you have an opportunity to be physically close to someone, you will take it without hesitation. Helga, as with all humans, needs that physical closeness and needs the assurance that someone, like Rodrigo, acknowledges her and likes her for who she is. The best way to show that is to physically demonstrate your affection, as what they are both doing."

"Plus," she continued, "both Arnold and Helga were kids when they got together. They were young, inexperienced and probably had unrealistic expectations on how to be in a relationship. They didn't know what they were doing; they were essentially exploring these new phenomenon called 'love' and 'dating', so of course they were going to have ups and downs; who wouldn't?"

"That's a very intuitive observation, Rhonda. You sound happy for her." Phoebe commented.

"Thank you, Phoebe. And yes, I am happy, for both of them." Said Rhonda. "They make a cute couple."

The gang then fell silent as they continued to observe the new couple happily snuggling with each other. As the bus drove them home that day, the gang hoped that that dark cloud that once followed Helga to no end is finally being lifted. They hope to see that the Helga they knew since the fourth grade; that fiery, free-spirited, no nonsense blonde girl, can finally come back.

Finally, the bus made it to the bus stop where the gang, including Rodrigo and Helga, got off. Rodrigo and Helga simply said their goodbyes and walked towards Helga's house.

"Let me guess," Helga remarked as they started walking. "You're here to make sure I get some safely? Geez, it's not even night time. I'm not blind, you know?"

"Nope." Rodrigo responded back. "I know you're a girl and you can take care of yourself. I just wanted to spend a little more time with you."

"Cute." She said. "Suffocating, but cute."

"Well, if you're short of breath, I would be glad to perform CPR on you." He said with a smirk.

Helga said nothing and simply rolled her eyes.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, Latino boy." She said.

For a few minutes, the newly couple didn't say anything to each other and just continued to enjoy each other's company's in sheer, joyful silence. However, when Helga's house was coming into view, she began to speak again.

"Look Rodrigo, I want to make something very clear here."

"I'm listening." He said.

"If there is anything that I expect in this relationship, is honesty. I want us to be honest with each other, about how we feel about certain things, or about each other. I don't want there to be any secrets between us. I don't expect you to divulge all of your private information about yourself, but I do expect you to be honest with me about how you feel, whether it is about me or something else, got it?"

"Totalmente claro." (Crystal clear) Rodrigo confirmed. "I wouldn't expect anything less. I prefer that as well. I have seen other relationships fall to pieces because couples were doing the exact opposite. I don't want that to happen to us. I just want to make you happy."

Helga happily sighed and said, "Good to hear."

Rodrigo simply smiled and kissed her hand.

"Well, since were being honest here, how was your day of us being together?" He asked.

"It was...serenely beautiful." She said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that." He said.

Helga, with a big smile, then leaned against Rodrigo, wanting to feel him before he had to depart when they reached her house, which was only about a block up ahead. Rodrigo smiled and just wrapped his arm around her.

Finally, they reached Helga's house, making both teens frown a bit.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow." Rodrigo said.

"Ya, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." She said back.

This time without hesitation, Rodrigo then held Helga's chin and then slowly leaned in to plant a slow, but loving kiss on her lips. Helga made no attempt to move away, but did the opposite and leaned in to reciprocate. She then wrapped her arms around his waist and pushed him in a bit aggressively, surprising Rodrigo, but nevertheless liking it. Indeed, her assertiveness was one of her traits that he liked about her.

After almost thirty seconds, both then pulled out in order to get some air.

After one more kiss, Helga then went up her stoop and into her house. Once she was inside, Rodrigo walked home.

Once she closed the door behind her, Helga simply leaned against it and happily recalled the wonderful day she just had with Rodrigo.

_Well, not a bad first day at all._ She amusingly thought.

Indeed, she was so excited about what a good day it had been that she almost practically giggled her way up towards her room. No one was home yet. Miriam and Big Bob were still working and Olga was either probably working at her part-time job, or went to another rehearsed interview. Either way, she was home alone and she was glad. It gave her plenty of time to think about what direction she wanted her relationship to go.

As she went upstairs into her room, she couldn't help to also think about her how relationship was with...Arnold. Although not wanting to go there, this was a place where she felt she needed to go and it was not to simply remember her formerly beloved football.

There were a lot of words that could describe how her relationship with Arnold was during the time that it lasted. Chaotic, passionate, blissful happiness, stable, tense, confrontational, romantic, etc. Essentially, it seemed to be all over the place. There were many occasions when their relationship seemed to be completely happy, normal and joyful, with other times it being very tense and confrontational, while in other times, sure there were a few arguments here and there, but nothing serious.

When Arnold left, she had a lot, and I mean A LOT of time to think about how and why their relationship came to be all over the place, whereas Phoebe's and Patty's relationship with Gerald and Harold respectively, were more...stable, with few, if ever extremities.

As Helga took off her shoes and clothes and got into something more comfortable, she lied down on her bed and continued with her thoughts.

_It wasn't just Arnold that is blame here._ She thought. _Even if I could, it wouldn't do me any good. I can't focus on his faults; I can only focus on mine. I honestly don't know how football headed kid put up with me. My biggest mistake was letting my fantasies completely control reality. I had in my mind completely set on how things were going to develop. It had never occurred to me that being in a relationship involved making compromises. Every time I had to do that, I would get so frustrated or angry. A lot of our infighting came from that. It took me a while to come to grips with it._

Helga then got up and she continued to vividly recall those memories, much to her chagrin.

"Ugh, crimeny, then there those times where I would get jealous whenever Arnold talked to any girl, especially Lila." She talked to herself. "Even if it was a friendly chit chat, I would get seriously suspicious and wound up stalking the guy just to make sure he didn't do anything behind my back. This is Arnold we're talking about! He would never have done something like that, and yet...I didn't trust him. My beloved, err I mean formerly beloved Arnold, whom he never would have succumb to such lows, even he I did not have faith in." She continued sadly.

Helga recalled many more instances of how bad her past behaviour was and how she sometimes took it out on Arnold. The more she thought she about it, the sadder she became in realizing just what a naive, insecure, unrealistic and honestly, dense girl she realized she was.

"Not this time!" She said, as she determinately walked around in her room. "I have no intention of repeating the same mistakes I made with Arnold. I'm smarter than that. I have learned from my mistakes! I am now more aware of how my fantasies and emotions circulate, which gives me the ability to control them. I won't let them shape my reality this time. I know that Rodrigo is his own person with his own thoughts, dreams, passion, likes and dislikes and I have no intention of taking those away from him. It what makes him who he is and why I like him so, doi! I learned to compromise when I need to. Sure, I still need some work there, but it has gotten better than when I started dating Arnold. I'm more confident in myself. I don't need to be around Rodrigo all the time to feel special or even wanted. Even a simple phone call from him is enough to make my day. Ok sure, I would prefer to be with him in person, but I don't need to be around him 24/7."

As Helga continued to think, she began to feel more happy and confident about herself. Despite the many mistakes that she made with Arnold, she realized that, even during her relationship with him, she was slowly also making headways toward becoming a better person and a better girlfriend. She felt that if things between her and Rodrigo continue to slowly move forward, Helga was confident that she would finally be able to have the kind of relationship that she always wanted. Then there was also another factor. It was something that she knew from before and knew full well how it deeply influenced her relationship with Arnold.

This thought was almost a big eureka moment because it made Helga stop dead in her tracks and lifted her head with wide eyes.

"Crimeny..." she gasped.

She had grasped the notion that there was a fundamental difference between her feelings for Arnold and her feelings for Rodrigo. Indeed, it was even a difference between how couple often felt about each other. Helga was obsessed with Arnold, but not with Rodrigo.

Why was this important? When she was younger, Helga had often wondered why it was so difficult for her to be around Arnold. Even when she finally had him and they started dating, she couldn't help but feel as if she never had him at all. Meaning that she whenever they got physically close, even just to go for a walk, she felt her heart beating extremely fast, she would start to grow very nervous around him, even inducing her to fall into a deep love trance. As time went by, these sensations decreased substantially, but they never really disappeared. In time, Helga began to feel that she could act normally around Arnold, but it never got to the point where it would be 100%. There were even times that out of nowhere, they would return.

More than that, she felt she never could every quench this deep desire to be, 'one with him'. Helga didn't know how to describe it, but she definitely felt that it was not enough to just be near him, hold his hand, or even just kiss him. No, she wanted to be one with him, in perfect union. Especially during the first year of their relationship, she wanted to be with him every single day, 24/7. It wasn't simply because she was insecure or she did not trust him. She just wanted to be with him. These feelings were so deep and passionate that she sometimes has trouble controlling them. No worse, she was sometimes afraid of them, afraid of completely being succumbed by them and doing God knows what. But again with time, they decreased in both energy and intensity.

In no way did she ever blame Arnold for this. Although aware of her intense feelings for him, Arnold never once attempted to take advantage of them. Quite the contrary, he completely understood her and always tried to work around them; giving her the closeness that she so desired, but never up to the point where it became overwhelming. Arnold, through patience and endurance, played a big role in allowing these serious intense and passionate feelings for him to subside as time went by.

Her feelings for Rodrigo were entirely different. She had no deep obsessive feelings over him. Sure, she often thought about him and yes, she wanted to see and be physically with him, but they never reached the same level of intensity and energy that her feelings for Arnold had. Actually, she could argue that her feelings for Rodrigo were quite...average.

Previously, Phoebe described how she felt for Gerald when they first started dating and based on that information, Helga concluded that her feelings for Rodrigo were similar in level of intensity.

Helga let a big smile grow on her face at this conclusion. She became relieved that she would not have the same issues that she had with Arnold. She didn't expect her relationship with Rodrigo to be a walk in the park, but she look forward to the high possibility that she could just...

"...enjoy it without fear of getting into any serious argument or confrontations." She said to herself. At least, that's what Helga hoped.

Helga let out a big sigh and then looked at her cell. Her parents would be coming home soon, which meant drama. Before that came about, Helga prompted herself to do some of her homework before they arrived. She took out her books from her backpack, stacked them on her desk, opened one of them and began.

As Helga attempted to concentrate on her work, she couldn't help but smile about the future and what it laid for both her and Rodrigo.

* * *

**Hope everyone liked the first chapter. I will post the rest of them in the next little while.**

**Please review and comment!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Clubbing Part 1

**Hi everyone. So, I want to backtrack a bit and do a story with Rodrigo and Arnold in it. This story takes place before the previous chapter, specifically on Friday, Arnold's last day at Hillwood before he has to leave and head back to San Lorenzo.**

* * *

"One, two, three, four, ya you got it Arn!" Rodrigo exclaimed excitedly.

"Now do a turn...good! Now do a side sweep...you got! See? You're a natural." He continued, happy with his performance.

It was now Thursday late afternoon and Rodrigo was at the boarding house with Arnold, teaching him some salsa moves. Before Arnold arrived, as their friends were making a schedule on what and where to hang out, Rodrigo had suggested about teaching them some dancing lessons on Friday. Although initially that idea was put on hold, the gang eventually decided to try it, but moved it to Thursday.

When the day came, everyone, including Helga, rather reluctantly, came to the boarding house and prepared for Rodrigo to inspire them to find their dancing groove. While Arnold, Rhonda, Nadine, Lila and Phoebe, Stinky and Patty found the lesson to be fun and enlightening, others such as Harold, Sid, Eugene, Gerald and Helga either had little interest in it or found it to be awkward, for various reasons.

In the end, everyone stayed at the boarding house well over two hours, either dancing to some Latin beats, or listening and dancing to other types of music. Once the dancing lessons were over and everyone headed home, Arnold, surprisingly, asked Rodrigo if he can stay a bit longer and teach him a few more moves, to which the Latino kid happily agreed.

Arnold was a bit of a slow learner when it came to Latin music. When the dancing lessons started, Rodrigo had to devote more time into helping Arnold than the rest of their friends. However, he slowly started getting the hang of it and by the end of the day, got pretty good at it, much to Rodrigo's joy.

"Thanks, Rodrigo." Said Arnold. "I think I've got the hang of this now."

"Oh ya, you totally do!" Rodrigo genuinely remarked.

As he continued watching Arnold while he danced, Rodrigo could hardly believe at how things quickly cooled between them. Just a few days ago, things were pretty tense between them and just the thought of being in the same room with Arnold would have been unthinkable. He didn't blame Arnold for feeling embittered or angry at him after Helga refused to get back together with him. SHOCKER! In Rodrigo's mind, Arnold had every right to be upset. Nevertheless, not wanting to have any lasting animosities between them, Rodrigo decided to speak with him the day after that fateful Sunday.

**Three days earlier...on Monday...**

Rodrigo nervously arrived at the boarding house and knocked on the door. Bracing himself for the inevitable animals coming out, they immediately ran out the second the door opened, as usual.

"Hi, Rodrigo." Miles warmly greeted him. "What brings you here today?"

"Um well, sir," Rodrigo began to nervously talk, "I came to speak to Arnold. Is he here?"

"Yes, he is upstairs. Please come in." Said Miles, as he swung the door open to let Rodrigo in.

"Thank you." Rodrigo said as he took off his coat and hat.

"Well you know where his room is, so I'll leave you to it." Said Miles as he began to walk away.

"Wait, Miles!" Rodrigo called out to him, prompting him to stop and look at the Latino kid.

"Before I go upstairs, I would also like to speak with you and Stella, Phil and Gertie." He said.

"Sure, but about what?" Miles innocently asked, although he had a clear idea on what Rodrigo wanted to talk to them about.

"About what has been happening between myself, Helga and Arnold. I'm assuming Arnold has already told you about that."

"Yes, he did." Miles said quite seriously. "Come on, everyone is in the living room."

Miles and Rodrigo walked towards the living room.

"We have a visitor today." Miles announced with a smile as they both entered the living room.

"Rodrigo, nice to see you again!" Stella greeted him with a smile.

"Morning Stella." Rodrigo said with a small smile.

"Well my boy, to what do you owe the pleasure?" Phil asked.

"Well Phil," Rodrigo began to talk as he started getting nervous again. "I actually came here to speak to everyone about what has been happening between myself, Helga and Arnold."

That made everyone in the room go quiet, averting their complete attention to Rodrigo, much to his anxiety, but at least that made him aware that they knew what he was talking about.

"I umm," Rodrigo said as he nervously fidgeting with his hat, "I came to apologize for the trouble that I have caused. I know that Arnold has already told you what he and Helga spoke about yesterday. I um, just wanted to say that I'm sorry for coming in between them. Believe me, it was never my intention for this to happen, and I never meant to hurt Arnold. I just want everyone to know that I care about Helga and I don't want this in any way to have a negative effect on how you perceive her. So, if you feel that you need to be angry at someone, then please let it be me. I just don't want this to in any way come between everyone here and Helga. She sees you all as family and I don't want her to lose that..."

"Rodrigo, stop." Miles rather firmly said to him, prompting him to go quiet. Miles was slightly offended at Rodrigo's insinuation that he would ever allow this come between them and Helga, but he understood where Rodrigo was coming from and he commended him for that.

"You have nothing to apologize about." Miles said to him. "We know what transpired between the three of you. It is..a messy affair, to say that least. But in no way do we blame you or Helga."

"Indeed." Phil said as he got up. "You are forgetting Rodrigo that it was our boy Arnold that broke up with Helga in the first place. I know, he did what he felt was for the best, even when I told him that it was a mistake in my opinion, but it was his choice. The same goes for Helga; it's her choice whom she wants to be with. No one can blame her for that. And to proof a point, Arnold did wish for her to move on, which she did, kind of late I might add, but she still moved on."

"We still love Helga, even if she is no longer with Arnold." Stella added as she also got up. "That will never change, and I know Helga feels that way too."

"She came downstairs with Arnold after their talk and told us what her decision was yesterday." Miles added. "We told her what we are telling you right now, Rodrigo; she will always be welcomed in this house and in this family with open arms."

"Whatever she needs, whenever she needs someone, we will always be there for her." Said Stella.

"The same goes for you, Rod." Said Phil. "Even though you've only set foot in this old crate for a few months, it has been really nice having you around. So, that door will always be open for you. Just don't swing it open all the way when you come in; it cracks very loud and it sometimes wakes us up." he continued with a smile.

"Thanks Phil, that means a lot." Rodrigo with a smile. "Thank you everyone, for understanding."

_At least they understanding. I just hope Arnold will too_. He thought.

"Well, I suppose you also came here to talk to Arnold?" Phil asked.

"Um, yes." Said Rodrigo as he started getting nervous again.

"Well then, come along my boy and I'll take you to him." He said as he and Rodrigo both started walking and heading upstairs.

"Um Phil, how did Arnold take all this?" Rodrigo asked.

"Well to be quite honest, he has been having a hard time accepting it, which is why I am coming along, to see how he is doing today." Said Phil with a worried look on his face.

"Oh..." was all Rodrigo could say demoralizing, as he now felt that any chances of them reconciling had become dimmer.

"But don't worry Rodrigo," Phil then said with some optimism as he patted him on the back, "Arnold always has a way to bounce back from this these things and I'm certain that this is no exception."

_I hope you're right, Phil._ He thought.

Finally, after walking down the hall, they reached the staircase that leads to Arnold's room.

"Do me a favour Rodrigo and just wait here for a second." Said Phil, which Rodrigo nodded.

Phil then proceeded to walk upstairs on his own and knock on the door.

Arnold had been cooped up almost all morning in his room. He only came down to eat breakfast that morning, but then asked to be excused to go back into his room once he was finished eating. To say that he was feeling a combination of emotions, from sadness, embitterment to outright anger, was not a farfetched conclusion. Indeed, he had been having a hard time accepting Helga's decision to be with Rodrigo, even when he offered her to come live with him in San Lorenzo, she still said no.

Arnold wanted to spend the day trying to sort out his emotions. To do that, he had been spending the morning online, looking around the net to either distract himself or give him any kind of clue as to what he was feeling. He was confused as to why he felt so hurt upon realizing that she had actually moved on, as he wanted her to. Or, did he not wanted her to move on? Actually, he wasn't even sure why he wanted to get back together with her to begin with.

_I don't understand why I am feeling so hurt by this._ He thought as he rubbed his face and eyes. _I broke up with Helga almost three years ago. I thought that I had, in some ways, moved on. So why I feel all of those feelings for her come rushing back to me when she came to the room last Saturday? What did it mean? Did I really not move on? That must be it; why else would I have felt that way? I was fooling myself all of those years into thinking that I was actually over her. It's true that I thought about her from time to time, but those feelings eventually then became very infrequent and almost disappeared until two days ago. I guess I was only repressing them._

Arnold then slammed his hand onto his desk, feeling completely frustrated and angry in realizing this too late.

_So then, if I was really only fooling myself into thinking that I had moved on, then that must mean that I never really wanted her to move on either._

Upon realizing this, Arnold grew completely disgusted with himself at how low his mind was willing to go, just to egotistically hang on to the fantasy of him one day getting back together with Helga.

_No! That can't be, not after what Rodrigo told me what she went through after I broke up with her, there's no way that can be true! I know I broke up with her because I wanted her to move on, I wanted her to be happy, even if it meant being with someone else. I cannot allow myself to think that, deep down, I never wanted her to move on! But then, how else do I explain why I'm having such a hard time accepting Helga's decision to be with Rodrigo and why I feel so much resentment towards him?_

Indeed, just at the thought of seeing Rodrigo in his mind was causing him to get angry.

_But it's not his fault!_ He continued to think. _He had nothing to do with this! I broke up with Helga and at anytime, I could have sent her a letter, asking to get back together with her. But I didn't. I remained silent, allowing her to move on, just as I wanted her to, even if I didn't. So, I can't blame neither of them for getting together when in reality, it was all my doing!_

Just then, there was a knock on the door, prompting Arnold to immediately get out of his train of thought.

"Come in!" He called out.

"Hey shortman, just came by to see how you are feeling today." Phil said as he opened the door and came inside, closing the door behind him.

*sigh* "Not so good grandpa." Arnold said sadly. "I'm still having a hard time accepting this and I don't know why."

*sigh* "I'm sorry to hear that, Arnold." Phil said as he walked towards him. "I know it has been a rough visit for you, but don't let that get you down. You still have the rest of the week to hang out with your friends. That is why you came to visit; to see them. Surely you are not going to let this drama with Helga and Rodrigo ruin that for you."

"I guess not." Said Arnold. "But it's hard to enjoy going out when I'm feeling this down."

"I know shortman, but you won't know unless you try." Said Phil.

"Ya, you're right grandpa. I came here to see them because I've missed them, so I should make an attempt to have fun. Who knows when I'll see them again." Said Arnold, trying to get back to his usual optimistic nature.

"That's the spirit!" Said Phil joyfully. "By the way, you have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Arnold asked.

"Rodrigo Castile. He came here to talk to you." Phil responded.

"Rodrigo? What's he doing here?" Arnold asked bitterly, almost angrily really and with a frown on his face.

"Now shortman, don't be like that. Rodrigo came here to apologize to you about everything that has happened. He wants to reconcile."

Despite what Phil said, Arnold was in no mood to see Rodrigo. He couldn't even stand being in the same room with him right now.

"So what? That's not going to make things any better for me." Said Arnold as he pouted.

Phil looked at his grandson with a bit of a surprised look. He knew he had been taking this thing hard, but for him to act like this, to be hostile at someone, he didn't think it was that bad.

"Maybe it can." Phil said.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"Think about it, Arnold. Do you think Rodrigo is really at fault here? I know you feel that he stole your girlfriend, but you know very well it's not like that at all. You wanted Helga to move on, to find her own purpose and happiness away from you. I don't think you were lying to yourself when you broke up with her for that reason, but it seems that you underestimated the power of love and the effects it has on people, including you."

"I guess," Arnold pondered, "but what good will it do for Rodrigo to come here and apologize?" He asked again as he pouted.

"Well, it can give you a different perspective on things, not just on how Rodrigo must also be feeling about all of this, which I imagined he must be feeling pretty terrible if he also apologized to us about it, but also on how you are unable or unwilling to see yourself."

"He came and apologized to you? Even to Mom and Dad?" Arnold asked surprisingly.

"Yes, he did. He even went so far as to try and pitch our angry and at him and not at Helga. We were surprised by that. I think your Dad even got a bit offended by it, but we knew where he was coming from and told him that there is nothing to apologize about. Neither he, nor Helga did anything wrong. No one did anything wrong, shortman. It's just the choices that people make and how those choices affect them."

Arnold was surprised that Rodrigo would come here and not only apologize for getting together with Helga, but even going so far as to become the target of everyone's angry, just so no one can take it out on Helga. Following his grandfather's advice, it was then that Arnold realized something about himself and the reason why he was having such a hard time accepting all of this. In his mind, he was unwilling to blame himself. His mind had convinced itself to blame on either Rodrigo or Helga, seeing as it was easier to do that, then admit to oneself that he was at fault. One's ego often does not allow itself to see the errors of its own ways. As a result, he had allowed his emotions to get the better of him and make Rodrigo the target of his contempt.

"But if you don't feel like having visitors today, I guess I'll go and let Rodrigo..." Said Phil before Arnold cut him off

"No, wait!" *sigh* "You're right, grandpa. It's not fair for me to just wallow in my own self pity and to take it out on him. He didn't do anything wrong and I don't want to be mean. If I am to get over this, I have to face this instead of being cooped in here."

Phil said nothing and just smiled as his grandson. Then he opened the door to let Rodrigo know.

Rodrigo meanwhile was nervously waiting for Phil to let him in. As the minutes went by, he grew more and more demoralized and started to think that Arnold didn't even want to see him.

_I can't blame the poor guy for being mad at me._ He sadly thought. _I practically ruined his visit._

Just then, Phil came out and called out to Rodrigo.

"Rodrigo? Come on in!" He called out.

Finally, seeing some hope, Rodrigo quickly made his way upstairs to meet Arnold.

Phil merely waited for him to come inside the room, then he just closed the door behind him and left, leaving the two male teens inside.

"Hey Arnold." Rodrigo said softly.

"Hey Rodrigo." He responded back, trying not to frowning or scowl at him.

"I know I am the last person that you want to see right now, given everything that has happened. But I came here because I wanted to tell you how sorry I really am about all of this." Rodrigo said.

When Arnold said nothing and just continued to look at him, Rodrigo continued.

"You must know that I never meant to hurt you, especially during your visit. That was not even the last thing that I wanted to do; it wasn't on my list. I never meant to come between you and Helga, or any of your friends. I only wanted to be a part of this group. I have no words to describe how truly sorry I am, but I hope...actually, I really do hope this did not ruin your visit. I know you've waited for almost three years to see everyone and I do think you should still make the best of it."

When Arnold still said nothing and just continued starting at him, Rodrigo started feeling awkward, as an eerie silence started filling the room. He had hoped he would say something, anything really. But, seeing as he wasn't saying a peep, he opted to just leave. He had said what he came here to say. That's all he could do.

"Well, that's all I wanted to say Arnold. I hope to see you around." He said before he turned around to started to leave.

"Rodrigo, wait!" Arnold suddenly called out, prompting Rodrigo to turn back around to face him.

Arnold then got up and walked towards Rodrigo. When he approached him, after a short pause, he offered his hand. Rodrigo, although surprised by this, nevertheless shook it.

"Thanks, Rodrigo." Arnold said to him. "That means a lot. But like my family, you don't have anything to apologize about. It's true that it's been...difficult for me to accept this, but I'm not going to allow this to come between us, nor between Helga. I'll be ok eventually. I care about her happiness and if being with you makes her happy, then I accept that."

"Thanks Arnold." Rodrigo said with a smile. "Anyway, I know you wanted to be alone this morning and you are scheduled to meet up with everyone in an hour or so, I'll let you be.

"Ok." Said Arnold, as he gave him a raised eyebrow about what exactly meant by 'letting him be'. "What time are you going to meet up with them?" He asked him.

"Huh? Oh, I think it's best if I don't really meet up with everyone today, or tomorrow for that matter." Said Rodrigo. "After everything that has happened, it's probably best if I just stay by the sidelines. I've already caused a lot of distress since you've arrived and I don't want to add anymore baggage or awkwardness during the rest of your stay. I'll see ya later, Arn." he continued before turning around and starting to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Rodrigo!" Arnold suddenly called out again. "Come hang out with us today. I didn't just come here to see all of my friends; I also came to see you. I was looking forward to hanging out with you."

Rodrigo just rubbed the back of his neck, not really convinced that he should be present. "I don't know Arnold."

"Rodrigo, if you are really sorry as you say that you are," Arnold insisted, "then you must also try and move past this. If you don't, then this baggage will continue to linger on. I know you are doing it for my sake, and I thank you for that, but as I told you, I'm not going to allow this to come between us. I would really like for you to come and hang out with us; Helga too." he continued with a genuine smile.

Rodrigo, after some hesitation, heeded to his wisdom. "Alright, I'll come." He said with his own smile.

Despite Arnold's insistence on having Rodrigo there with everyone, it was still awkward for all three teens to hang out and pretend that everything was ok. Although Arnold had insisted on Rodrigo coming, he still kept his distance, but no longer showed any disdain or contempt towards him. Both Rodrigo and Helga decided the day before, out of respect for Arnold, that they would not officially start their relationship until the end of his visit. That meant that they would not in any way be intimate towards each other, neither will they hold hands or even kiss. Essentially, they would remain 'friends' throughout the rest of that march break, a fact that both teens took seriously. Rodrigo mostly stayed by the sidelines while Arnold conversed with everyone, watching and studying them.

Despite the day starting awkward, everyone made the best of it and focused on enjoying their time with Arnold, Rodrigo and Helga included. With time, things finally started normalizing again. Slowly but surely, Arnold started conversing more and more with Rodrigo and started to feel more relaxed and friendly towards him, even up to the point where both teens told jokes.

Helga, despite still possessing feelings for the football head, kept her distance from Arnold and tried to act as normally as possible. Just being in his presence still nerve-wrecked her, so it was often a challenge to be cool around him and not succumb to any of her swooning traits towards him. Whenever she did feel she was being overwhelmed, she would either excuse herself to get some air, or simply moved towards Rodrigo to be closer to him. Yet, whenever possible, she did try and enjoy Arnold's company. Rodrigo noticed Helga's anxiety, but could do little about it. Although not liking how Helga still showed that being near to Arnold was making her skip a heartbeat, he tried to reassure himself that Helga had stated not once, but twice that she had chosen to be with him and not Arnold. They only had to endure this for a few more days before they can finally start their relationship.

To help Helga out a bit, they agreed to meet up after their time with Arnold and their friends, allowing Helga to 'recharge' her batteries as it were, and remind her of why she chose to be with Rodrigo. Although they reframed from being in any way intimate, it nevertheless worked and Helga felt she can continue hanging out with Arnold.

By the time Thursday rolled around, things were almost like old times. Arnold was fully enjoying in hanging out with his friends again and he was especially enjoying Rodrigo's company. It seemed that the dramatic events of the first two days of his visit were already a distant memory. Yet despite this, Rodrigo was still surprised when Arnold asked him to stay a bit longer in order to help him with a few more dance moves. Rodrigo wasn't sure if he asked him to stay longer because he genuinely wanted to learn a few more moves, or if he was simply wanting for things to become completely friendly and normal between them. Either way, Rodrigo took the opportunity and accepted it.

**Back in the present...**

"I gotta say Arnold, I'm impressed." Rodrigo said with a smile. "When you first started today, you were having a bit of a hard time, but I can see that are a quick learner and you even started doing your own dance move, and developing your own groove."

"Thank you, Rodrigo." Said Arnold as he continued to dance. "You were a big help with that. You were patient and worked with me until I was able to find my way."

"Well, I can honestly say that you are ready." He said to him with a bit of a smirk.

"Ready for what?" Arnold asked.

"To go to a club. With the way you are dancing now, the ladies will be swarming you to dance with you." He said.

"Oh, I don't know about that, Rodrigo." Arnold said shyly. "The last time I tried dancing inside one of the clubs in San Lorenzo, well, let's just say that I ended up making a fool of myself."

"Ya, but that was then, when you were only starting to feel the rhythm. But now you are ready. You have the knowledge, the tools and the confidence to pull it off. I know you will make an impression there."

"Ya, I'm just not sure if I am ready to go to one yet." Arnold insisted.

Just then, Rodrigo had an idea.

"Would it help if I come along with you?" He asked.

"Huh? To San Lorenzo?" Arnold asked confusingly.

"No, if we go to a latin club here in Hillwood." Rodrigo clarified.

"There's a latin club in Hillwood?" Arnold asked.

"Hell ya! There's one that just opened recently that I go to sometimes. So how about it? Would you be more confident if I go with you to a club and help you out?"

"Well, um, I mean, I'm not sure. When will we be able to go?" Arnold hesitatingly asked.

"Why not tomorrow? Friday night? It'll be your last day here in Hillwood, so why not leave here with a good Friday night blow out?"

"But um, do you really think I am ready?" Arnold asked shyly.

"Sure you are!" Rodrigo responded confidently. "If I thought that you weren't, I wouldn't have suggested it. I'll be there to help you out, so have nothing to worry about it."

Actually, Arnold did have something to worry about and it concerned Rodrigo too. He was really hesitating about bringing it up, not wanting it to sour their evening and make things awkward between them again, but Arnold felt compelled to make it known.

"Well um, Rodrigo, not that I don't want to go but...what about Helga?" He nervously asked. "Will she be ok with this?"

Rodrigo went completely silent and any excitement that was once on his face almost completely disappeared. Worse, a sense of awkwardness started permeating the room where they were in. Clearly this was still a sensitive topic for the two and Rodrigo was suspicious about why HE had to bring it up. Yet despite the annoyance, Arnold did bring up a good point. How would Helga feel that the two boys she currently/still likes, as strange and awkward as that may seem, feel about them going to a club and dancing with other girls?

_Ya, she would flip._ Rodrigo thought.

"Hm, good point Arn." Rodrigo said, trying to sound unfazed by the arisen name of a certain someone.

_Helga will surely not like the idea of us dancing with any girls, even if we assure her that nothing will come out of it. It's a controversial suggestion, which I personally won't blame her if she flat out refuses to allow myself AND Arnold to go._ Rodrigo thought.

Just then, an idea popped into his head.

"Hey! Why don't I ask a female friend of mine to come with us? Helga knows her and based on my observation, my friend seems to be on her good side."

"Who?" Arnold asked.

"Gabriela. She recently moved here at Hillwood from Los Angeles. She is Brazilian and a cool person to hang out with." Rodrigo responded.

"Well, I guess that could work." said Arnold, although still not convinced that Helga will allow this. "How will that be any different than us dancing with other girls at the club?"

"Because Gabriela is currently dating a girl, I think her name is Daniela. They are romantically involved with each other, so it's perfect. I can ask them if they would like to come with us to the club tomorrow night not as dates, but as friends. It can in no way be a date, nor can anything happen between them and us, since Gabriela and Daniela are together. See? Problem solved." Rodrigo explained.

Arnold thought about it for a second and realized that it could actually work.

"That sounds like a concrete plan." He agreed. Do you think they will want to come with us?"

"Only one way to find out." Rodrigo said with a smile as he took out his cell phone and dialed Gabriela's number. After a few rings, she answered.

"Hello?" Gabriela asked.

"Gaby, it's Rodrigo, what's up?" He greeted her cheerfully.

"Eh, just chilling at home." She responded nonchalantly. "How are things going between you and Arnold?"

"That's what I would like to talk to you about." He responded back. "By the way, you are on speaker. Arnold is here with me right now and I would like take him to a Latin club so he can practice a bit before he heads back to San Lorenzo. But I'm not sure how Helga will feel about this, so I was wondering if perhaps you and your girlfriend would like to come with us to the club, not as dates, but simply as friends. I figured that if you guys came along with us, it can in no way be considered a date, nor can anything happen since you and Daniela are together."

"Ookkk..."Gabriela said through the phone at this strange request. "What will Daniela and I do there?"

"Uh, duh! You will be dancing with us and help Arnold here continue to find his groove."

"Football head can dance?" Gabriela asked.

Arnold became surprised that a total stranger had used a nickname that is usually reserved for Helga to use to refer to him. Rodrigo for his part, in utter embarrassment, just slammed his face with his hand,.

"Gaby, didn't I just say that you are on speaker and Arnold is right here? He heard you call him that." He said to her.

"So what? Doesn't Helga call him that as his nickname?" She asked him.

"Yes, but only Helga is allowed to call him that. It's her pet name for him. She is privileged." He said to her.

"Oh and I am not privileged? I'm hurt Rodrigo." *sniff*. She said jokingly.

"Gaby, no words will ever describe what a privilege it is for ME to have a friend like you." He said teasingly, if not also flirtatiously.

"Aww." She said. "So, can I call him football head?"

"No, you cannot." Rodrigo responded.

Arnold just looked on with a sense of entertainment and then suddenly said,

"It's ok Gaby, you can call me football head."

Rodrigo turned around and looked straight at him, completely surprised. He wasn't sure what to make of this. Did it mean anything? Based on his conversation with their friends, that nickname had a long and intimate history that connected Arnold and Helga. Once used to insult and scorn Arnold, it quickly became an intimate, loving, yet Helga-like nickname for him. Now Arnold seemed to be throwing all of that way and Rodrigo was not liking it. He thought it was too much of a radical step for him to let anyone call him by that nickname, even for someone as radical as him!

_I better make sure I never tell Helga; she would kill me...and him._ Rodrigo thought worryingly.

"There, you see? He doesn't mind." Gabriela said, prompting Rodrigo to snap out of his train of thought and focus back on why he had called her in the first place.

"But, may I call you Gaby?" Arnold then suddenly asked.

After a bit of a pause, Gabriela answered. "Sure, that seems fair."

"Fine, you win. So, will you and Daniela come with us tomorrow night?" Rodrigo asked.

"Sure, why not?" Gabriela confirmed. "How did you managed to convince Helga of this?"

"I didn't even speak to her about this yet." Said Rodrigo. "I wanted to confirm with you first before I speak to her. It wouldn't have made any sense if I convinced her to go with this idea if you didn't want to do it."

"When are you going to talk to her?" Gabriela asked.

"Later today. I promised to meet up with her after I was done teaching Arnold a few more dancing moves. Once she gives me the green light I'll let you know." He said.

"Ok, good luck. I'll buy your tombstone in advance, just in case." She said while giggling.

"Very funny." Rodrigo groaned. "Chao."

"Chao. Chao, Arnold." She said.

"Chao, Gaby." Said Arnold. "She is nice."

"Very." Said Rodrigo, not taking serious notice of Arnold's comment, "So ya, I guess Friday night is on."

"I guess so." Said Arnold, feeling a bit excited about doing this. "How exactly are you planning on telling her?" He asked.

"Just bluntly tell her about it and ask if she is ok with it. She has always been a brutally honest person, so it's only fair that I be honest with her. If she has a problem with it, I will expect her to tell me. I'm not willing to do this if she doesn't want us to."

"Ok." Said Arnold.

Despite Rodrigo's confidence and sensitivity for Helga's feelings, Arnold wasn't so sure that Helga will simply allow them to go to the club. Personally, he doesn't think she will be ok with it. Even if by some miracle she was, he got a unnerve feeling that she will not just let them go scot-free. Nevertheless, he opted to just let Rodrigo speak with Helga about it and hoped she would be honest about how she felt about this.

**Later the evening...**

As promised, Rodrigo met up with Helga after his class session with Arnold had ended. They agreed to meet up at Slausen's Ice Cream Parlor, although given the still cold weather, they were in no mood to have ice cream. Hot chocolate would do.

Helga was especially glad to have met up with Rodrigo tonight and was looking forward to spending time. The evenings were the only time she was able to be with him and be relaxed, without having to look over her shoulder and care what Arnold or anyone else thought about them.

After ordering their hot beverage, they sat down and chatted a bit, mostly about what they were planning on doing during their first week as boyfriend and girlfriend. Helga still couldn't believe at the turn of events, but was nevertheless excited about it, although she didn't explicitly showed it to Rodrigo. Eventually, the conversation then steered to what Rodrigo and Arnold had planned on doing tomorrow night. Rodrigo fully explained the whole plan out to her and explicitly stated his reasons on why he wanted to take Arnold to a club. He also told her about inviting Gabriela and her girlfriend to ensure that this would not be a date.

Helga listened attentively while Rodrigo spoke, but couldn't help but give him a bit of a glare as she wondered if there was some cultural difference between American and Hispanic cultures, or if Rodrigo, given his inexperience in dating, was just being naive and truly thought she would be ok with this. Yet, she reframed from truly giving him a scowling face and just waited for him to finish before she gave him her answer. She didn't have to wait long.

"Well, what do think? It would it be ok if Arnold and I go to a club with Gabriela and her girlfriend?" Rodrigo asked.

After a bit of a pause, she answered. "Sure, why not? Have fun." She said casually as she took a sip from her hot chocolate.

Rodrigo just continued to stare her, completely surprised that she seemed to be completely ok with this...almost too ok.

"Really?" He asked.

"Did I stutter? Yes, I said it's ok." She responded.

Seeing as how Rodrigo was still surprised and not really convinced, Helga opted to clarify herself.

"Look, it's just as you said, it's not a date and you will be going with two female friends who are dating each other. So what could happen?"

"Well, ya." He said a bit assuringly.

"Besides," she added with an almost sarcastic laughter, "we're not dating yet, so you are free to do what you want." As she gave him a small nudge on his shoulder.

That last statement didn't sit well with Rodrigo and he began to feel suspicious about Helga's intentions, if not also be a bit offended.

"Helga, I'm not trying to take advantage of 'my last few days of freedom' here." He said to her. "I just want to take Arnold to a club where he can practice his dancing. I'm not trying to do something behind your back and I don't want to go if it's going to upset you. That's why I'm asking you if you are ok with this. If you are not, then please tell me."

"Relax, Latino boy," Helga assured him, "I know you are trying to be friends with Arnoldo and to be honest, I'm glad that you are trying."

"You are?" He asked.

"Sure. It would have really sucked if both of you didn't get along because of little old me. That's why I appreciate you trying to spend some time with him. In the end, he is a great guy. That's why I'm letting you take him to the club. So, you can go," she continued with a smile.

"Thank you." He said with his own smile,

"at your own risk, Latino boy." She added with a whispering snarl.

"What?" Rodrigo asked.

"What?"

"Did you say anything?" Rodrigo asked.

"No, I didn't." She said and just continued to innocently sip on her hot chocolate.

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Hmm, "at your own risk?" I don't like the sound of that. What does Helga have up her sleeve? Find out in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Clubbing Part 2

**Friday night...**

Arnold prepared for his first night club event in Hillwood. He was a bit nervous, but also excited at this venture. For tonight, he decided to wear a clean white shirt, with brown formal pants and black shoes. He also had a black tie. Once he was ready, he quickly made his way towards the rendezvous point. He had to walk a few blocks to meet up with Rodrigo, Gabriela and Daniela at the bus stop. Upon arrival, he saw that they were already there.

Rodrigo was wearing black formal pants with a red shirt and his famous fedora heat. Both Gabriela and Daniela looked amazing. They were both wearing long, tight dresses. Gabriela wore a green dress, while Daniela wore a red one. While Gabriela had little make up on, only wearing green eye shadow, Daniela had a bit more make up with red lipstick. Given the cold weather, all four teens wore coats and scarves.

Gabriela Oliveira was a beautiful Brazilian by birth and grew up in a Brazilian household. Although she can understand Portuguese, her parents never forced her to learn it. Instead, she learned English and Spanish and is currently learning Italian. Being mixed, she had the face skin tone as Nadine, but with dark, afro brown after hair and green eyes. She was not much taller than Rodrigo and her body type was almost the same as Helga's. Being bisexual, she has been dating Daniela for a about a month or so.

Daniela was another beautiful, but Caucasian teen with red hair. Like Gabriela, she was also bisexual. A bit taller than her girlfriend, she had a more feminist personality than her.

After making their greetings, the four teens quickly hopped onto the bus the second it arrived, in order to get away from the cold. Once inside, they sat down and chatted away. Despite the strange request, all four teens were able to relax and even grew excited about tonight's event, with Daniela especially being jumpy and a bit anxious on getting to the club in order to dance with her girlfriend.

Upon arriving at the club, it soon hit Arnold where he actually was and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. From the outset, one could feel the strong Latin flavour throughout the dance floor. It was loud, lively, energetic, fun and sexy all at the same time. Arnold watched with astonishment but also with some edginess at how the other teens were also dancing. Some were only performing basic moves while others were fully into themselves, being extremely close to each other and moving in accordance to the beat. Arnold was also astonished as to how liberally dressed many of the females teens were. Some had so little clothes on that Arnold at least a few times thought they were naked. Some teens have such skimpy skirts and one could almost see their buttocks. However, others were dresses that revealed less, with longer dresses that went all the way to their knees, while others simply wore jeans.

Yet despite that, this was clearly not Arnold's type of crowd. Even the few times when he went to a club in San Lorenzo with some of his friends, seeing people dancing and dressing up like this made him a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't all bad. It was a combination of excitement, but also nervousness and Arnold was having a hard time reconciling the two. Nevertheless, with whatever confidence he had, he came what he set out to do here; learn to find his groove and just enjoy the night.

Once they went inside, all four teens then quickly proceeded to the dance floor and began their night of partying.

Arnold started dancing with Gabriela. Initially, he was having a hard time keeping to the beat, with a few times stumbling. However, Gabriela gently encouraged him and got him to relax just enough for him to start dancing more and more in line with the tune of the music. Eventually, he was able to regain his confidence and the groove that he had acquired only yesterday. Gabriela was a bit surprised at how quickly he was able to start taking the lead. Although his body was a bit strict, Arnold nevertheless was able to perform as few moves that he himself made up, much to Gabriela and Rodrigo's surprise. He was no professional, but he was a quick learner.

The four teens had made it clear that they would only dance Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia or bachata with each other. Reggaeton was out of the question, as that usually involved heavy grinding, which neither teens was willing to get into, except Gabriela and Daniela, who did not hesitate to get extremely close to each other and aroused each other.

The four teens took turns dancing with each other, with Gabriela sometimes going to the dance floor to dance with Daniela. When that happened, Arnold, Rodrigo, and a few guys and girls stood by and watched with amazement at how they danced. It was purely energetic, bustle with an arousing display of sexy movements as both females teens danced with each other, while being extremely close, often kissing one another. Sometimes Gabriela would lead, while at other times, Daniela would.

All in all, all four teens seemed to be enjoying the night. Arnold became completely relaxed and would sometimes even venture out to dance with other girls, much to the other teens' surprise. However, it soon became clear that there was something going on between Arnold and Gabriela.

Ever since they met up at the bus stop to go to the club, Arnold, after introducing himself to Rodrigo's friends, began to converse with them. However, slowly, Arnold and Gabriela began to concentrate on talking to each other, but their conversation was soon cut off when they arrived at the club. For a while, they just focused on dancing with each other. It was hard to talk at the club anyways, given the loud music. However, after a little more than an hour, both teens went somewhere where it was a bit quiet and sat down to talk again.

Initially, neither Rodrigo nor Daniela minded it, nor did they notice anything suspicious and simply focused on either dancing with each other, or conversing as well. However, after twenty minutes, Rodrigo soon started to notice that they have not moved from their spot and it didn't seem likely that they would be rejoining them anytime soon.

Rodrigo, curious, wanted to investigate, but being with Daniela, he was unable to. However, Daniela soon excused herself to go to bathroom, allowing him to step in a bit closer and see what was happening, all while ensuring that they would not see him.

Once taking a closer look, it initially didn't seem that anything was happening, other than them simply talking. However, upon closer look, it became clear that something was indeed happening. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company,

_Almost too much_. He thought.

Rodrigo noticed a change in Gabriela's behaviour. She went from being relaxed and chilled around Arnold to being flirty and confident, but also showing her being a bit nervous around him. Plus, she was smiling at him throughout. Arnold for his part was also enjoying in conversing with Gabriela and was also smiling.

It turned out that both teens have a lot of things in common. Gabriela, like Arnold, was passionate about helping the downtrodden and upon learning what Arnold was doing in San Lorenzo, excitedly commended him for it and began to ask him more questions about it. She also told him about her own experience in helping those in need and told him about she would sometimes go back to Brazil on special programs and spend the summer in the infamous favelas (shantytowns) helping the residents, a fact that impressed Arnold greatly. Arnold also learned that Gabriela had a neck for mathematics, but her real passionate lied in biology. He learned that Gabriela had big aspirations about one day becoming a botanist and traveling around the world to collect various specimens.

Soon, Rodrigo realized what was happening and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. It was clear to him that both teens were becoming interested, if not attracted in each other. Personally, he was all for it and the sooner Arnold moved on from Helga, the better. However, his concern lied on how Helga would feel about this, which he assumed would not take this lightly. It was too soon for her to allow him and her to move on.

In the end, he let both teens be and went back to the dance floor. There was little hope of them ever becoming serious. Apart from the fact that Gabriela was already taken, Arnold was scheduled to return to San Lorenzo the next day with no telling on when he will be coming back. As far as Rodrigo was concerned, this was only a fling. Nevertheless, he felt confident and relieved in knowing that Arnold will eventually move on and this little scenario with Gabriela has proven that. He hoped that with time, Helga would also do the same.

Eventually, Arnold and Gabriela decided to rejoin their friends and continued to dance. After another hour or so, the four teens decided to call it a night. Arnold still had to pack and he wanted to wake up on time in order to eat breakfast with his family before he set off.

As they walked out of the club, Gabriela received a text message from a friend about a house party not far from the club. She asked if Rodrigo and Arnold wanted to come with, but both male teens declined.

"Are you sure you ladies are ok to go to the party on your own?" Arnold asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I may be new here, but I know my way around. I promise that we won't go through any dark alleys." Gabriela assured them. "And it is not a big party. I know the people there and I am comfortable with them."

Rodrigo and Arnold were not so sure. It was very late and despite it not being far, it was still quite a walk to get there.

"Maybe we should just go with you, just in case." Rodrigo suggested.

"Relax hermanito." Gabriela insisted. "If anything happens, I'll text you. You just go and make sure Arnold arrives home safely. You wouldn't Helga to come after you if she finds out that something happened to him." She taunted him.

"You do know that Arnold used to live here, right?" Rodrigo said to her.

"Exactly, used to live here. Much has changed." She replied back to him.

"Which is why we insist on walking with you to the party." Arnold interjected. "Just to be safe and for peace of mind."

Although still wanting to protest, Gabriela just smiled at him and simply said with an almost swooning voice, "ok, sure." a behaviour that Rodrigo noticed. Like Helga, Gabriela can be a bit stubborn when making up her mind, so for her to simply be convinced like that was not something that Rodrigo took lightly. He just hoped that Daniela did not also notice it.

All four teens then made their way to the house party and just like before, Arnold and Gabriela spent more of their time talking to each other while Rodrigo talked with Daniela.

Upon arriving at the house, the teens then said their goodbyes. Gabriela made little attempt in hiding the sadness she felt on having to say goodbye to Arnold. She had a nice time with him. For a second, she thought about perhaps exchanging their personal contact information and keeping in touch, but at the last second, decided against it, for various reasons, which mostly revolve around Helga.

Arnold for his part, noticed Gabriela being a bit sad. He assured her that it was nice meeting her and he hoped to see her again soon the next time he came to visit. Other than that, he could do little else to help her, but it did the trick. Gabriela remained hopeful to one day see him again.

After making their goodbyes, the two males teens then proceeded to go home. Not wanting to walk all the way home, they waited for a bit for the bus to arrive and take them back to the neighbourhood. They didn't have to wait long.

While on the bus, Rodrigo thought about inquiring a bit on what happened between Arnold and Gabriela, but decided against it. He figured that there was no point and he wasn't sure how Arnold felt about it.

Indeed, while Arnold did have a good time tonight and enjoyed Gabriela's company, he was in no mood to even ponder on the possibility on being with someone else. It was too soon for him. He was not as dense as people claim him to be; he knew there was an almost instant attraction between him and Gabriela, but chose not to follow up on it.

"So, how did you enjoy your night?" Rodrigo suddenly asked.

"It was great. I had a lot of fun." Arnold responded back with a smile.

"See? What did I tell ya? And you seemed to have really gotten confident. You even went out to ask other girls to dance with you and not once did you stumble." Said Rodrigo.

"Ya, I felt a sense of excitement and energy swirling around me. It's pretty toxic and hard not to be in a partying mood when you're in there." Arnold explained.

"Well, you'll knock'em dead in San Lorenzo." Rodrigo said.

"Hehe, I'm sure I will." He said confidently. "Thank you Rodrigo for tonight."

"No, thank you Arnold." Rodrigo countered, this time with a bit of seriousness in his voice. "Thank you for being so understanding and for allowing us to be friends. Despite what happened, I'm glad that you convinced me to spend time with you and our friends during the rest of this week. I had fun; I hope you also had fun."

"I did. It was great seeing everyone again. And despite what happened, I don't regret coming back to visit." Arnold said with a smile on his face.

As both teens continued to chat, the bus eventually made it to their stop and both got out. They then proceeded to go home. Rodrigo walked with Arnold towards the boarding house. Once there, Rodrigo would head home.

"So, any plans on when you will be planning on visiting us next?" Rodrigo asked.

"I'm not sure, really." Arnold responded. "I haven't really thought about it. I was thinking either this summer or this coming Christmas, but I have to make sure that I don't fall behind on my studies."

"Well, I hope we don't have to wait another two and a half years to see you again." Said Rodrigo.

"No," Said Arnold with a chuckle, "it won't be that long again."

"And if you do plan on coming home for Christmas, do me a favour and don't open the door if I come knocking on it." Rodrigo said with a laugh, fully remembering the last time Rodrigo went to the boarding house on Boxing Day, only to find Arnold was in Hillwood for two days but did not inform their friends.

"God no! I'm not going to let that happen again." Arnold exclaimed.

As the two teens continued walking home, none initially noticed another person was walking right behind them. After walking for a block, Arnold noticed the third person but initially did not worry about it. However, it soon became apparent that the figure was walking awfully close to them, with no indication that the person was either going to pass them or turn on a corner. Worse, the person was wearing a thick brown coat with a long, brown fedora hat, which tipped forward, covering the person's face.

Arnold, getting a bit suspicious, dropped his smile and started to frown.

"You ok Arnold?" Rodrigo asked, taking notice of his changed facial appearance.

"Yeah, but I think there is someone who is following us." Arnold whispered to Rodrigo. "He has been following us since we got off the bus stop."

After walking another block, it confirmed the teens' suspicion; the person was definitely following them. Rodrigo then decided to confront the person. He stopped walking, quickly turned around to face him.

"Hey, are you following us?" He called out, but the person also stopped walking, only a few feet away from them and simply stood still, while saying nothing.

Arnold, not liking the person's silence, then gently pulled on Rodrigo's shoulder.

"Rodrigo, let's go. This is getting too weird." He said to him.

"Ya..." was all he could say, as he was also getting weirded out.

However, no sooner had they turned around when, to their shock, another person appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, right in front of them. Like the previous one, he/she was also wearing a long brown coat with a long brown fedora hat that was tipped forward, covering the person's face.

By now, both male teens started becoming nervous. Their palms became sweaty, despite the cold, and their hearts started beating faster, feeling that their flight response was starting to act up.

Thinking fast, Arnold saw to their right that there was an allay.

"Quickly, run!" He cried as he started running into the allay, with Rodrigo close by.

None bothered to look back and just continued on running. They soon hit a fence, but already into their flight response, simply climbed up and went over it. After a while, they made it out of the allay and back on the main road. Seeing as how both figures were not following them, both teens stopped running to catch their breath.

"I think..we lost them." Arnold said as he was panting.

"Yeah...I think so...too." Rodrigo agreed as he panted. "Who the hell were those guys?!"

"I don't know." Said Arnold. "But I hope we have seen the last of them."

"Wow, what a night!" Rodrigo exclaimed, feeling a bit relieved that they lost them.

Once they caught their breaths, both male teens were about to start heading home when,

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Rodrigo exclaimed again, horrified in suddenly seeing the person with the large coat again.

Arnold, also horrified, turned around and saw the second person right behind them.

Fear started gripping the teens, as they were at a loss of who these guys were and what they wanted with them.

"Arnold," Rodrigo whispered, "we may have to fight our way out."

Arnold merely glanced at him a bit before looking back at the mysterious person right in front of them.

"You may be right, Rodrigo." He reluctantly confirmed.

_Let's just hope they are not armed._ He nervously thought.

"Ok, let's take one of them out, then make a run for it." Rodrigo continued to whisper to him.

"Ok." He confirmed.

Then, both teens started walking towards one of the mysterious person, hoping to catch him by surprise and overwhelm him before his partner got a chance to help.

However, no sooner had they started towards one of them when that person put his hand inside his coat, only to take out a large, sharp butcher's knife, forcing the two males teens to stop dead in their tracks and stare at the cold blade with a petrified look.

"Um, what do we do know?" Arnold asked with a serious sense of fear in this voice.

"Run!" Rodrigo yelled and both teens crossed the street and made a run for it.

Not bothering to even look behind them, they quickly made a dash for the boarding house. The allay from where had they emerged from lead them to the opposite side from the boarding house, further away from it. Hence, they were forced to go around the block, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

It was now very dark and the weather was very cold, but neither teens were bothered by it. They were primarily concerned for their safety, so they were not focused on how the cold air penetrated their skins, freezing their faces and nose as they continued to run. Finally, they saw the boarding house and safety.

"We're almost there!" Arnold yelled as he furiously continued running.

"Safety!" Yelled Rodrigo. "Take out your keys, quickly!"

Arnold took out his keys, just in time for him to quickly put it inside the lock, unlocking the door, allowing both teens to go inside and immediately lock it again.

Finally feeling safe, both teens just leaned on the door, face first, as they continued to pant heavily for air. Their hearts were furiously racing as it pumped blood and adrenaline throughout their bodies to allow them to continue running. Even after they entered the house, their hearts still continued to beat furiously, but were slowly decreasing in intensity.

"Let's not do this again." Rodrigo said while still panting.

"Ya." Said Arnold.

Then suddenly, both teens then felt a tap on their shoulders. As they turned around, their faces went completely white as they saw who it was that tapped their shoulders.

Somehow, the two mysterious people that were chasing them had managed to not only beat them to the boarding house, but had broken into it as well. Worse, the male teens were now trapped, with nowhere to go. They were still wearing their large fedora hats, so their faces were still concealed. Then, they both pulled out two large butcher knives, ready to make mince meat out of the two male teens. Upon seeing those large knives,

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Both male teens screamed with petrified fear and hugged each other, closed their eyes as they shivered, waiting for the inevitable. However instead,

***giggles**snickers***

They heard giggles and snickering coming from the two mysterious people that were in front of them, confusing the two teens. However, because they were still locked in fear, neither were able to inquiry on it.

"What a bunch of sissies!" One of the mysterious person said.

_That voice...it sounds familiar._ Both male teens thought as they desperately tried to regain any sense of control over themselves.

"Well, it was easy to scare them." Said the other person, again sounding familiar to both male teens.

Before they could say or do anything, the two mysterious people then took off their hats and coats, revealing themselves to them.

"Helga?!" Exclaimed Rodrigo in utter shock.

"Phoebe?!" Exclaimed Arnold, also in utter shock.

"You got it!" Said Helga with a mischievous smile.

"B-B-But, those knives..." Arnold tried to comment.

"Oh this?" Helga said as she placed a finger at the tip of the blade, easily bending it. "It's just cheap plastic, but it looks undoubtedly real. Pretty sweet gig, right?"

"I-I-I don't get it, why did you scare us like that?" Arnold asked with a raised voice.

But before Helga or Phoebe could respond,

***thump* *thump***

Rodrigo collapsed to the ground, completely fainting.

"Oh dear." Said Phoebe worryingly as she looked down. "I think we may have over done it."

"Nah, serves him right for going to that club." Said Helga unsympathetically.

"That's what this is about?" Arnold asked with an angry look on his face. "You were upset that Rodrigo and I went to the club? He told me that when asked you, you were ok with it."

"Ya, he did." Helga casually responded. "And I did tell him he can go."

"Then why did you scare us like that?!" Arnold yelled.

"Ssshhhh! Keep your voice down." Helga shushed him. "You don't want to wake up your folks. They have a plane to catch, you know?"

"And as for your question, football head," she continued, "I did tell him that he can go, but at his own risk. I guess he must have not heard that last part." She said she chuckled. "I guess I was not being loud enough when I said that. Silly me."

"Helga," Arnold frowned at her, "that was not funny. We were really scared. We thought you two were actually going to hurt us."

"Oh please," Helga responded, "like anyone can ever hurt you. Maybe Rodrigo, but not you. Besides, consider this as a little goodbye souvenir from moi." She said with a smirk. "And as a lesson for Latino boy down here to never, NEVER do something like that again."

"Helga," Arnold said as he rubbed his face in frustration, "you could have just said no if you didn't want us to go."

"I could have, but where would the fun be in that?" She said with a triumphant smile.

"Seriously?!" Arnold exclaimed.

"Excuse me," Phoebe then interjected, "Not to interrupt, but perhaps we should move Rodrigo somewhere more comfortable before he comes to?"

"Yeah." Was all Arnold said as he continued to frown at Helga for this very cruel joke.

While Arnold grabbed an unconscious Rodrigo from his torso, Helga and Phoebe grabbed him from his legs.

"Sheesh, this guy is heavy and he is not even that tall." Helga grunted.

Gently, they moved in coordination and walked towards the living room where they placed him on the couch.

Arnold then examined his head to see for any bruises when he hit the floor.

"I think he'll be ok. He didn't hit his head, but let's leave him here until he regains consciousness."

"Well, that's a relief." Said Helga. "I wasn't expecting to give him a heart attack."

"Phoebe," Arnold began to say exasperatingly, "I understand why Helga did this, but why did you decide to get involved?"

"Well to be perfectly honest," She began to explain, "I wasn't really in agreement with Rodrigo on going to the club without Helga, even if she gave him permission. I believe he should have either gone with her or none at all. I'm a bit old fashion like that."

"Plus," Phoebe continued as she giggled, "when Helga told me what she was planning to do, I couldn't resist. It kind of felt like...old times."

As much as Arnold was crossed with both teens for pulling a stunt like this, he couldn't help but feel that it did indeed felt like it was old times. Arnold still vividly remembered when they were kids, some of the stunts and tricks that Helga or their other friends used to pull on him or everyone else for fun. Despite his anger, it brought a warmly sense of nostalgia and even a sense of...belonging, a feeling he has not felt in years.

"Yea, it kind of does feel like old times..." He admitted with a smile, albeit with some reluctance. However, then began to focus again on Rodrigo.

"How long do think he will be out?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, but I believe it would be best if he stays here for tonight. It's not like we can take him home." Phoebe suggested.

"Ok, let me grab my phone and text message his parents." Said Arnold as he took out his phone and began texting them.

"There, done." He said.

"What did you say to them?" Helga asked.

"Well, I told them that Rodrigo was so exhausted from the club that he just passed out on my couch. When I came in, I saw him sleeping and not wanting to wake him up, I decided to text them to let them know that he is ok. I hope they bought it."

"I'm sure they did." Said Helga.

Finally, some silence started permeating among the three teens as they quietly exited the living room and entered the hallway. Helga especially was having trouble in adjusting to this silence, as it allowed her to start concentrating on Arnold again and feared that her feelings for him might starting acting up again. Not waiting to allow that to happen, Helga decided to call it a night and leave before anything happened that she would regret later on.

"Pheebs, it's getting late. Let's go home." She said to her best friend. "Well, I'll see you later football head." She said nervously and quickly started walking towards the door.

However, no sooner after taking a few steps, she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"Helga, wait." Said Arnold, as he stopped her. "I know it's late, but I was wondering if perhaps...we just sit down and talk a bit. I mean, this is my last day here in Hillwood." He said shyly.

_You have got to be joking._ She thought.

"I um...I don't think that's a good idea, Arnold." Helga nervously responded. "It's getting late and I need to walk Phoebe home."

"It'll only be for a few minutes, Helga." Arnold suddenly added. "I know things have been...awkward between us since I came, but I don't want that to get in the way with our um...friendship." That last word left a sour taste in Arnold's mouth. Despite his optimism, the wounds were still clearly felt, but he was nevertheless determined to move on.

Helga was starting to lose her grip. Yes, she wanted to sit down and spend some time with him. She rarely did so during the whole week that he was here, as she mostly tried to fend off her feelings for him from overwhelming her and tried not to create a more awkward moment between the two. Yet, she wasn't sure if she would be up the task. His mere presence alone caused her to loosen her grip and any sense of logic or reason. Her heart would automatically start to beat faster and she would experience butterflies in her stomach. Indeed, she had always had a hard time trying to maintain her composure around him, even when they were together.

Now, things were different. They weren't together. In a few days, she was going to be with Rodrigo and she was adamant that she was not going to do something that she would come to regret, not when she was so close to finally having the means and motivation to move on.

"Arnold," she said softly but still nervously, with a hint of sadness, "let's not make this anymore awkward than it needs to be. It's...late and you have a plane to catch and I can't have Phoebe walk home by herself."

However, before either Arnold or Helga could say anything else,

"It's ok Helga," Phoebe then suddenly interjected, "I can walk home on my own. You should stay and catch up with Arnold."

Helga quickly turned around and gave her best friend a shocking but also staring glare, facially indicating just what she was doing. Phoebe however, remained unfazed and just smiled at her best friend.

"It's ok Helga." She said to her as she gently put her hand on her shoulder. "Just stay and talk. I'm sure Rodrigo will wake up soon anyways and he would want an explanation from you about our little...prank."

Although clearly feeling uncomfortable about being stuck with Arnold...at the boarding house...with so many memories of them being together...alone, with her future boyfriend in the other room, Phoebe also caught on to another part of Helga's psychology; as much as Helga didn't want to be there, mostly for Rodrigo's sake, she definitely wanted to be there. True, it was mostly for the wrong reasons, but she wanted to stay and spend whatever little time there was left with Arnold, a fact Phoebe caught on. Besides, who knows when they will be able to see Arnold again. It could take another two and a half years.

Helga was at a completely loss for words and remained frozen. As much as she clearly wanted to object and just leave, she felt a strong urge to stay and spend their last hour or so together before Arnold goes off again to San Lorenzo. But even if she wanted to get a word out, Phoebe quickly said her goodbyes to both Helga and Arnold and left, leaving Helga with no choice but to stay.

_Phoebe, if I ever get out of this alive I'm going to kill you!_ Helga snarled in thought.

Despite her extreme apprehension to the situation, Arnold was glad that she stayed. With a smile on his face, he directed her to the kitchen where they can sit down and talk. While Helga nervously sat down, Arnold went to the stove and started making some tea for them. While the kettle began to warm up, Arnold then sat down next to Helga.

"Helga," Arnold began to say, "you really shouldn't have pranked us like that. I mean, Rodrigo did ask for your permission. You could have said no." He said

Despite having already moved on from this conversation, Arnold thought that bringing this up again would help Helga ease up a bit. It worked.

"Oh come on, Arnoldo. It wouldn't have been as much fun if I just said no, like a typical girlfriend. I had to do it Pataki style." She said with a smirk, as she felt some sense of her confidence returning.

"And me? Why did you have to also pull that prank on me?" He asked.

"Wouldn't have been much fun if I only did it to Latino boy over there." She responded. "It was like Phoebe said, for old time's sake. Besides, how was I suppose to prank him while you were with him the entire time?"

Arnold just sighed in annoyance and didn't bother to continue to argue about it.

However apart from that topic, it soon became clear that neither of them knew what else to say to each other. As much as Arnold wanted to spend some time and talk to Helga before he left, he really had no plan on what he was actually going to talk to her about. He actually didn't think Helga would agree to staying this late to talk to him. This only aggravated the situation more for Helga, as she felt she was slipping from nervousness to extreme anxiety again. She nervously started fidgeting with her hands, trying desperately to calm her nerves.

"So," Helga spoke, finally breaking this wall of awkward silence. "What um... time does your plane leave tomorrow?"

"3:30pm" Arnold answered. "I have to leave here no later than 12:30pm, in case of traffic."

"Ah, good plan." She responded.

Although it was definitely for the best that Arnold returned back to San Lorenzo, Helga couldn't help but still feel a pain in her chest on seeing him go away for the second time. Yes, it's less painful than the first time, but it still stung. Nevertheless, she now looked forward to finally starting her relationship with Rodrigo in just a few days. This was the only positive outcome that was coming from Arnold's departure and the only thing that was preventing her from feeling the same amount of pain that she felt when he left almost three years ago. She was confident that once he left, she would finally be able to move on from him.

"So, you're off to save the poor, hungry folks of San Lorenzo?" she asked him.

"Ya, I am. I won't have much time to help out due to school work, but I want to make an attempt on going to a few villages during the weekend. I have some souvenirs for some of my friends in those areas so I want to give that to them as well." He responded back.

"Sounds good. I'll bet they'll build a statue of you in honor of your deeds, as the Green-eyed people did." She said with a smirk on her face, recalling the memories of their adventure there.

"Speaking of which," Arnold said, "My parents and I did come across them again. We were trying to collect a rare plant and the Green-eyed people knew of its location, so we went back to their city to ask for their help. Naturally, they showed us the way and we were able to collect them. When we arrived there, we were surprised that they built statues of you and Gerald."

"Really?" she asked him with a surprising tone in her voice

"Yes and not just one, but several!" he added.

"Well finally I get a bit of the credit for helping them. Good to know that I wasn't forgotten." She said happily.

"No, they haven't. They are eternally grateful for what you did for them. Actually they've asked me how you and Gerald have been doing and they've asked me to give you their hellos and thank yous. They said that you will always be welcomed to their city."

Helga wasn't sure if Arnold was still trying to convince her to go with him to San Lorenzo or if he was just making conversation. Nevertheless, she still had no intention of going to live there, especially now that she will be with Rodrigo by the beginning of next week. Yet, she felt glad that the Green-eyed people have never forgotten her and what she did for them. It felt...nice being appreciated for once.

"I might just visit them one day; so long as I don't have to walk through their road of death like last time!" she retorted.

Arnold just chuckled. "No, you won't have to. They have another entrance where visitors can enter the city safely."

Again, both teens then went silent again, not really knowing what else to say. The awkwardness starting returning again. Arnold nervously attempted to come up with something else to talk about, but kept floundering on what topic to discuss. Finally, after almost a minute of more silence and in seeing Helga becoming increasingly nervous and anxious, he decided to just say it.

"This is awkward, isn't it?" He finally said.

"Um ya, a bit." Helga shyly admitted.

_More like a lot._ She thought.

*sigh* "I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to put you in this position." Arnold said with a bit of frustration in his voice. "I just wanted to have some alone time to just sit down and talk to you. I have been wanting to do with you all week. We haven't seen or talked to each other for almost three years. I just wanted to, you know, catch up. I didn't want your relationship with Rodrigo to get in the way with us being friends, but I feel like that is what has been happening this whole week. I know you said you need some time and I respect that. I just wanted a little time in hanging out with you before I go back. As awkward as this may sound, I really missed you."

Helga, despite her anxiety, knew full well that she was lying to herself this whole time. She had tried to tell herself multiple times that she didn't want to hang out with him, nor was she happy to finally see him. That was an abject failure on her part. She was overwhelming happy to see him! Yet, she felt severely frustrated that was she was not able to enjoy his visit in the way that she had dreamt of for almost three years! Apart from the fact that she now had to accept the realities of things, she felt even more frustrated that she was letting her relationship with the Latino kid get in the way of at least finally enjoying the small opportunity of hanging out with Arnold.

"I know, Arnold. I've missed you too." She said with a sigh. "This wasn't exactly how I planned to spend time with you either. Rodrigo coming into my life was completely unexpected and it virtually threw everything out the window. My goal, whenever you decided to come visit us, was to try and get back together with you. For almost three years I was dead set on that. Anything that I was going to do with you during your visit revolved around us trying to get back together."

Helga then just slumped around and rubbed her eyes.

"Now, I had to grudgingly throw that out the window." She continued frustratingly. "Not that I regret it. It's just that...it's bittersweet. I can't say that I'm happy to see because you and I can't be in that situation that I was hoping for years we would be in. But...at the same time, well, it's been really good seeing you again, football head. Even if it's as friends, it has been really good to have you around here. You were never that rough on the eyes." She continued with a very small smile.

Arnold said nothing and just smiled at her.

"It has also been bothering me that we haven't really hanged out as much as I would have liked to. I'm sorry that this wasn't the welcoming session that you had hoped to receive, but...if it's any consolation, I'm glad that you visited us this week. And despite it all, it has been...nice to hang out with you again." She continued with a small smile.

Again, Arnold initially said nothing just smiled back, but after a few seconds,

"Thanks Helga."

"Are you ever planning on visiting us again without your parents?" She asked him.

Arnold looked at her with a surprised look on his face. After some thought, he answered her.

"Well, I was thinking of perhaps coming to visit for another week during Christmas. I still get really anxious about leaving my parents, but it has gotten better. I have to practice and start to slowly get used to the idea of going to faraway places without them."

"No plans to come back for this summer?" She asked him.

Arnold just shook his head.

"No. I'm still behind on my school work and I promised my parents that I would help them out with some work, so the chances of me coming to visit during the summer are slim."

Helga couldn't help but feel emotional conflicted by that. On the one hand she felt saddened that Arnold was still not able to come visit them unless his parents also go with him, the chances of which are second to none. It meant that she would not be able to see him again for a good while. In addition, As much as she tried to resist it, she felt incredible annoyed and...still hurt that despite the years that went by, he still favoured them over her. Yet, on the other hand, she felt relieved and even...glad that he would not be coming back for a while, as this would allow her the time to move on with Rodrigo. Helga knew that the only way for her to move past her obsessional love for the football head was for him to not be physically around. So long as he remained far way, she knew that she could beat it and allow her feelings for Rodrigo to continue to mature and eventually, develop into something more..profound, more deep; love.

"Well, take your time." She said to him with a smile. "But don't take too long to come visit us again. Things get pretty...dull here without you sometimes."

Arnold just smiled at her and said, "Thanks Helga. I promise I'll come and visit more often."

Just then both teens heard footsteps, prompting both to look towards the entrance. After a few steps, Rodrigo walked up and carefully made his way towards the kitchen table. He still felt a bit dazed and he didn't want to stumble down again. However, he was fully aware what had just happened and he was in a very foul mood.

"Hey, there you are. How was your nap Latino Boy?" Helga taunted him with a smirk.

"Shut up Pataki." Rodrigo snapped back angrily as he sat down on the table while rubbing his head

"Oh come on, you gotta admit, it was a bit fun...for me at least." She said with a bit of a chuckle.

Arnold frowned at her, while Rodrigo gave her a deadly stare.

"Rodrigo, does your head hurt?" Arnold asked.

"No, I just feel a bit dazed." He responded.

Arnold then got up, went to the stove and pour some tea onto a mug, then went back to give it to Rodrigo.

"Here, drink this. It'll help." He said as he sat back down.

"Thanks Arnold." Rodrigo said softly as he took a sip from the mug.

Helga meanwhile just sat back and smiled at her latest achievement in pranking these two male teens in one stroke.

"You gotta admit," Helga said to Rodrigo, "it was a good prank, one that you will surely remember."

"I swear to God I'm gonna get you back for this, Helga." He warned her.

"Sure you will. You don't believe in God, so your threat has no foundation, so I can't take it seriously." She cockily told him.

"You know what I meant!" he raised his voice at her.

"Fine. And I'll be waiting." She said while smiling at him. "And keep your voice down. Everyone is still sleeping. I'm surprised no one got up after hearing those girly screams."

Rodrigo said nothing and merely gave Helga the middle finger while he just sipped on his tea.

"Ok, fine." He said. "I got your message; never go to club again, at least not without you."

"Attaboy." She said with a smirk.

"Was she always like this?" Rodrigo asked Arnold.

"Well, sometimes." He awkwardly said.

Rodrigo just groaned as he now wondered just what exactly he had gotten himself into.

"You're not planning on backing out, are you?" Helga suddenly asked with a now more worried tone. Even her smirk disappeared.

Her tone took both male teens by surprise, which prompted them to look at her. In a split second, Helga went from being confidently arrogant and mischievous, to showing her vulnerability.

Realizing that he quickly needed to answer before things got even more awkward between them, "Not on your life." He said confidently. "You're stuck with me." He continued with a smirk.

That made Helga's smile return to her face.

"Good."

"Listen," Rodrigo then began to say, "it must be very late and I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted. I'll take my leave."

"You go. I think I'll stay here a bit." She said to him. "That is, if you are and Arnold are ok with that?"

Arnold and Rodrigo then looked at each other for each other's confirmation.

"Sure." They both said simultaneously, which surprised them.

"I mean, ya, if you're ok with that, Rodrigo?" Arnold asked.

"Ya, I'm ok with that. I'm not the jealous type." He said as he glanced at Helga with a smirk, which she just rolled her eyes.

Rodrigo then said his goodbyes to both Arnold and Helga before grabbing his coat and heading off.

Arnold and Helga then went back to the kitchen to continue their awkward conversation. Arnold tried his best to maintain a calm and comfortable environment between them and avoided going into topics that discussed either Rodrigo or their previous relationship. Yet, despite Arnold's best efforts and trying to feel calm and confident, Helga had trouble trying to prevent her feelings for Arnold from resurfacing. She had to constantly think about Rodrigo in order to keep them at bay and yet even that sometimes proved to be insufficient. Nevertheless, she tried to enjoy whatever little time she had left with Arnold. It had a been a long time coming and Helga was not going to allow her feelings to get in the away in trying to at least enjoy Arnold's company.

Finally, Helga felt that it was time for her to head home. Apart from it being extremely late, she could no longer stand being in the same room with Arnold without fully succumbing to her obsessive feelings for him.

Arnold walked her to the door and despite her uneasiness, gave Helga a big hug. Helga had to use every strength in her body and mind to not grab him and kiss him and only hug him back. After letting go, she quickly made her way out and took a deep breath.

"That...was too close!" She exclaimed frustratingly. "Crimeny, I can't believe that even with Rodrigo on my mind, I'm still having a hard time in keeping my feelings for that stupid football head at bay. What do I have to do to get rid of them?!"

Despite her frustration, Helga was too exhausted to think about it and just decided to put her headphones on and listen to some heavy metal music while she headed home.

**The next day...at the Boarding house...**

Helga arrived at the boarding house early in order to help Arnold and his parents with any final packing and to say her final goodbyes to them.

Helga found it hard to say goodbye to both Miles and Stella for the second time. They had been nothing but good towards her, despite her antics, and she had been eternally grateful for their love and acceptance. Although she tried not to think about it, she could not help but feel that she was losing her parents with their departure.

Miles and Stella were also finding it hard to say their goodbyes to Helga. Internally, they had hoped that Helga would accept Arnold's offer to come live with them in San Lorenzo. They were just as surprised as Arnold was when their son told them of Helga's refusal to go back with them. Although it was not easy to deal with her sometimes, their time together during those years after the event of San Lorenzo allowed Miles and Stella to came to view Helga as a daughter and they had made it clear to her that even though they fully accept and support her decision to be with Rodrigo, they would never allow that to change things between them. Helga likewise, felt the same way.

Finally, it was time for the Shortmans to get into the taxi that was waiting for them to take them to the airport. Helga, Phil, Gertie and all the tenants watched with sadness in their eyes as the Shortmans got onto the taxi and drove off. Neither attempted to move until taxi was completely out of sight. When it did so, everyone then slowly started making their way back into the boarding house. Helga had some chores to do and promised she would help Phil out a bit.

**Three hours later...**

Helga was in Arnold's room and just about finish cleaning it up when she stopped to look at the clock. Realizing that their plane was about to leave, she quickly grabbed her coat, put it on, then climbed up to the rooftop.

Helga looked around at the sky of any planes passing by. After a few minutes, she noticed one coming towards their neighbourhood. Although obviously not really knowing if that was Arnold's plane, she had a gut feeling that he and his parents were on it.

She watched with a sense of sadness, emptiness, yet strong sense of hope, as the plane continued to ascend into the sky.

"Bye Arnold." She said softly to herself as she saw the plane flying ever higher towards the sky, away from Hillwood, away from her.

Once the plane was out of sight, Helga let out a sad sigh and began to descend down into Arnold's room to continue her chores. Despite her sadness in seeing him go again, Helga nevertheless focused on the positive; Rodrigo. In just two days, their relationship will begin and a new life will start.


	4. Chapter 4 - Happy Belated Birthday

**March 26...At Lunchtime...**

It was Monday and it was just like any other day. Rodrigo immediately burst into the lunchroom and went to sit at the same table where he and his friends would always go to. He was starving. He woke up late that morning and only managed to eat a fruit for breakfast, lest he missed the bus. Wasting no time, he sat down, opened his lunch bag, got out his food and began to eat.

"Whoa, someone's starving today." Sid commented when he saw at how Rodrigo was just devouring his lunch.

Rodrigo said nothing and just gave Sid a thumbs up. He couldn't respond since he had just stuffed his mouth full of food. After almost a minute of chewing, Rodrigo finally managed to swallow his food to respond.

"Ya, I'm starving. I only ate a fruit for breakfast this morning, so my stomach has been growling for almost half the time of my last class."

"Just make sure you chew before you swallow." Gerald commented, noticing Rodrigo's ravenous appetite.

Again, Rodrigo said nothing and merely gave Gerald a thumbs up.

While Rodrigo was busy eating away, Gerald then turned his attention to Phoebe, whom he was about to ask her a question before Rodrigo came.

"So, how was your date last night with Helga, Pheebs?" Gerald asked.

"It was really rather nice." Phoebe excitedly began to tell her story. "Although Helga has never been a person to be surprised, I am proud to say that I am one of the few that succeeded in that aspect without upsetting her."

Although Rodrigo was busy eating his lunch, he nevertheless listened into Gerald's and Phoebe's conversation, curious to hear just what did Phoebe do for Helga to surprise her.

_Helga didn't mention going out with Phoebe when I spoke to her last night._ He thought.

"Well, that did you do for her?" her boyfriend asked.

"Well firstly, I got her this really nice poetry book that contained a lot of her favourite authors and poets. Then, believe it or not, we went shopping."

"You...took Helga out...shopping?" Gerald re-confirmed while giving her an unbelievable, if not skeptical look.

Phoebe however, just giggled.

"I know, it sounds crazy but yes, we went shopping. We didn't really buy a lot. Helga bought a shirt, a nice sweater and new pants. I bought a nice fancy coat to wear for special occasions. We just spend most of the time just talking and eating lunch there. It was rather nice. We haven't had much time in hanging out with each other, so we took yesterday as a great opportunity to catch up."

"Well that's nice. I hope she liked her surprise." Said Gerald.

"Oh she did. She was thrilled." Phoebe responded with a smile.

"So Rodrigo, what did you do for Helga last weekend?" Gerald then asked.

Rodrigo lifted his head and gave Gerald a confused look.

"Nothing. Was I suppose to do something for her?"

"Uh, ya duh. Don't tell me you forgot." Gerald said with a bit a of a worried look.

"Forget what? What happened last weekend? And why did you surprise her, Phoebe?" Rodrigo asked, now looking even more confused than ever.

"Don't you know, Rodrigo?" Phoebe rhetorically asked him. "Yesterday was Helga's birthday."

The second he heard that word, 'birthday', Rodrigo swore he felt his heart stop beating.

"What?!" He yelled frantically. "It was her birthday yesterday?!"

Phoebe confusingly just nodded.

"Yes, it was. How did you forget?" She asked him.

"Forget? I never even knew when her birthday was?!" Rodrigo exclaimed, now borderline panicking. "Neither her, nor anyone ever told me and I never attempted to find out!"

Both Gerald and Phoebe just stared at him with wide eyes, baffled at how this piece of small, but crucial information was completely missed.

"Oh man!" Gerald exclaimed as he hit his head with the palm of his hand. "Sorry about that, Rodrigo. I don't know how we never told you."

"What are you doing to do, Rod?" Stinky asked.

"Simple. I'll just blame it all on everyone; let her take it out you guys." Rodrigo joked with a smirk.

"Funny, Rodrigo." Sid sarcastically remarked, as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Fine. I'll think of something." Rodrigo groaned as he plunged his head on the table.

"Any ideas yet?" Harold asked as he chewed his food.

"No." Said Rodrigo. "But I'll think of something." As he raised his head. "I don't know what, but it'll come to me. Right now, I just want to eat. I'm still starving."

Rodrigo then continued eating his lunch, but he was also deep in thought as to what he could possibly get for Helga.

_I'd better think of something._ He thought. _Otherwise she will kill me. Hmm, I could just ask her what she would like to do or what she would like for her birthday. Ya, let me do that. I'll ask her during history class._

**History class...**

Rodrigo quickly made his way to their class and hoped Helga would already be there. He wasn't running, but he was walking very quickly. As he approached his class, he noticed a blonde girl entering the classroom. Relieved in knowing that it was Helga, he quickly made a dash for the door.

Rodrigo arrived at their classroom and saw Helga calmly about to her seat. Although he wasn't sure why, he suddenly felt a burst of energy coursing through his veins. He quickly walked in, went around their desk and very quickly, without Helga even noticing, sat down on his desk and exclaimed,

"Hey, what's up?!", which took Helga by complete surprise and made her jump.

"Jeez, where did you come from?!" She exclaimed with a still surprising tone in her voice. "You scared me!"

"Jumpy, are we?" Rodrigo teasingly asked.

"I am not jumpy!" Helga retorted back at him. "You just scared me is all."

"My bad, but I wanted to surprise you." He said.

"For what?" She asked him while giving him a bit of a frowning face.

"For your birthday, which apparently it was yesterday and neither you, nor anyone else, ever told me about. So, happy belated birthday, Helga."

"Ya sure, whatever, thanks." She said almost dismissively. She then just took our her notebook and get prepared to the class' lecture.

_OOkkk. Not the response that I was expecting._ He thought.

"Um, I think you missed the part where I said that you never told me when your birthday was." He said again.

"You never asked." She said.

"True, but it wouldn't have killed you to at least give me some notice." He said.

"Look, it's no big deal, Rodrigo. So what if I didn't tell you." She said.

Rodrigo was a bit surprised by her remark. He was expecting her to be either angry or upset with him for missing her birthday. Instead, he was presented with her usual cynicism, dismissing that fact that her own boyfriend completed missed her birthday.

"So, you're not mad?" He asked.

"Mad about what? That you missed my birthday? Like I said, it's no big deal. You didn't know about it and even if you did, it wouldn't have been a big deal."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there. What do you mean it wouldn't have been a big deal?" He asked, removing any remaining joking humour from the conversation and getting serious. "Helga, I missed your birthday. Yes, I didn't know about it, but aren't you the least bit upset that I never even said 'happy birthday' to you when we spoke last night?"

"Not really." She casually responded as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Really?!" Rodrigo exclaimed, looking completely flabbergasted.

Upon seeing how upset Rodrigo was getting that she wasn't at upset with him, she decided to humour him.

"Ok, so did you plan anything for my birthday?" She asked.

"Uhh, no. I only found out about it during lunch, so I had no time." He confessed.

"So then why are you upset that I am not upset with you?" She asked him.

"I'm not upset. I'm just surprised that you're not upset. I'm not sure how to react to your reaction. Maybe I should be thrilled that you're not upset because God knows what you would have done to me if you were upset. Or, is this some diabolical scheme to let my guard down and when at I'm my most vulnerable, you will strike?"

Helga just stared at him and gave him a sweet smile for his naivety.

"You're cute when you're so lost, you know that?" She said.

"Anyways, regardless, I feel bad about missing your birthday and I want to do something to celebrate it."

"You don't have to do that, Rodrigo." She said to him. "Like I said, it's not a big deal."

Rodrigo by this point was about to seriously protest. However, he checked himself from saying anything because he realized a possible reason why Helga was being cynical about all of this.

_Could it be that she just doesn't want to have any expectations in this relationship for fear of being let down?_ He thought to himself.

It made sense. Many people whom she had expected to be there for her, were not. Her family, Arnold and even most of their friends had all let her down in some way or another. Yes, that is a bit biased, but it nevertheless served to only isolate herself even more from others, away from allowing anyone from ever trying to hurt her.

Although Rodrigo had a good hunch that this may be the reason, he didn't know for sure, but he wasn't willing to find out about it. His main focus was trying to do something for Helga's birthday.

"It's a big deal for me." He said to her. "It was your birthday yesterday and I missed it. I know you may not think that you being born is not a big deal, and in this universe it may not be, but it is to me."

That got Helga's attention and turned to look at him with curious eyes.

"You exist in my life and...I'm glad that you are here so I can share all of that," he pointed out the window, "with you. That's why I want to celebrate your birthday with you; to commemorate the day when someone as strong, smart and...beautiful as you, came to be."

Helga was a bit astounded for him to say that. No one since Arnold had ever spoken so thankfully about her.

"Um, well, thanks Rodrigo. That's really nice." She sheepishly said to him. "You uh, meant that?"

"Every word of it." He said as he extended his hand.

Helga then reached for it and grabbed his hand, only for Rodrigo to then gently and tenderly place a kiss on her hand, making Helga smile.

"So what do you say? Let us celebrate your birthday?" He asked with a smile.

"Fine. Let me know what you want to do." She said while still smiling, if not blushing a bit.

*cough*"Get a room."*cough* a student behind them suddenly muttered to them.

"What did you say?!" Helga instantly turned around and growled at the student, while giving him a deadly glare and showing him her fist.

"Hehehe, n-n-n-nothing. Y-Y-You guys make a cute couple. Carry on." The student nervously said and went back to 'writing' on his notebook.

Rodrigo just watched in awe on how Helga can be sweet and bashful one second, only to be able to inflict fear and intimidation among her peers in another second.

_Ya, I'm happy she wasn't angry at me for missing her birthday._ He concluded.

**Friday...**

It was now the end of school and Rodrigo quickly went to his locker to grab whatever he had to take home for the weekend. He also did not want to miss the bus. He had booked Friday night to take Helga out for her belated birthday and he was both excited and also nervous about it.

He had planned three different events. The first was dinner, which he made reservations for at one of the city's fanciest restaurants in downtown. Then they were to head to the botanical gardens. Although Helga was never a flower girl, there is an exhibit that showed rare and exotic flowers. The best part about that was that they were artistically arranged and placed around a big mound. It was suppose to be awe-inspiring, according to the reviews that he read online, hence why he wanted to take her there. After that, he was going to deliver his coup de grâce; a birthday present for Helga.

After grabbing everything from this locker, Rodrigo started making his way to the bus stop. Further down the hall, he heard a commotion. Rather curiously, upon inspecting it, he saw two kids berating each other, trying to incite one another into hitting the other first. One was a white teen and the other was a black teen.

"Come on, let's see if put your money where your mouth is!" The white teen angrily yelled as he also pushed the black teen.

"Don't touch me!" The black teen yelled back. "And I didn't say any of those things about your sister!"

"You liar!" The white teen yelled back. "I know you black guys always have an eye for white girls, but not my sister!" To which the white teen again pushed the black teen.

Their friends were not really helping the situation. They were inciting the two teens to fight each other and even began throwing swear words at each other. Although concerned as to why these two kids were at each other's throats, in the end, he opted to not intervene. He didn't know them and they were probably just being stupid. Besides, he had more important things to worry about tonight and so walked away.

**Friday evening...**

Rodrigo wasted no time in getting himself ready for his big date with Helga. He wanted to not only make an impression, but he also wanted her to have a good time. To do that, he wanted everything to be perfect. Right after coming home, Rodrigo took a shower, shaved and put on some formal attire. He put on some black dress pants and a purple shirt with a black tie. He also didn't want to be late for dinner. He had booked it for 6:30pm and given how it was still rush hour during that time, he wanted to leave early to ensure they would get there on time. He had booked all of their events down to the last second, so there was no room for any screw ups.

After doing some homework, he realized that it was almost 5pm, so he quickly got up, grabbed his coat and headed out.

Rodrigo had earlier asked his dad if he can borrow the car again, to which to his delight, he was given permission. It was faster getting around the city by car than by bus. Before getting into the car, he texted Helga, letting him know that he will be there soon. He was so into this date that he completely forgot to ask Helga if she was even ready. Luckily for him, she was.

When Rodrigo arrived at Helga's house, he texted her again to let her know that he had arrived. He didn't have to wait for long Helga to come out. When she came out, Rodrigo's jaw dropped. Although he had asked her to be a bit formal for tonight's event, what she was wearing was, not too formal, but just...wow. Helga wore a beautiful red dress that went down all the way to her feet. She wore medium black high heels for the occasion. She even abandoned her traditional two pigtails and let her hair go completely down, making her hardly recognizable, yet allowing radiant hair to shine. Although she wore little to no make-up, she did have black leather jacket to keep her warm, but to also demonstrate her typical, no nonsense attitude.

Looking beautifully, Rodrigo just started, becoming mesmerized as Helga climbed down the stoop and climbed into the car. Yet even then, Rodrigo said or did nothing and just continued to stare at him.

*snap* Helga snapped her fingers in order to get Rodrigo out of his trance.

"You uh, took a long mental picture there, Latino boy?" She asked him.

"Uh? Oh sorry Helga, you just soo...ravishingly beautiful tonight." He said as he leaned in to kiss her on the kiss.

"Thanks." She casually said. "Now, would you mind telling me where we're going? I can't stand surprises."

"Nope." Rodrigo said as he started the engine again and started driving. "Just humour me tonight. I promise you will not be disappointed tonight."

"Fine." She said as she got more comfortable.

Rodrigo then gave Helga a CD pouch.

"Here, pick a CD." He said.

Helga scanned through the pouch and then grabbed a CD that caught her attention and put it on. It was heavy metal music.

"Good, nice music." She said as she continued to relax, but not before increasing the volume up a bit, allowing the music from the electronic guitars to shoot right up, making the car vibrate a bit.

As Rodrigo continued to drive, Helga couldn't help wonder just what did he plan for tonight. But knowing that she will soon find out, she let that thought slip away from her mind and just relaxed.

Much to Rodrigo's surprise, it didn't take too long to get to downtown, although it did take him a bit for find a parking spot. He had to park a bit farther than he wanted to from the restaurant, but he was nevertheless happy that thus far, things were coming along nicely.

_Well, so far so good._ He thought to himself.

Upon parking the car, he turned the ignition off, then quickly got out of the car and went around to open the door for Helga and help her get out.

"I'm not handicapped, you know?" She retorted. "I can get out on my own."

"With those heels? I don't think so." He said as he helped her get out.

"I'm a girl, I have walkedwith these heels on ice." She countered.

"Correction, you're a girl that would rather wear sneakers than any heel. So, unlike Lila, Rhonda or even Phoebe, you ain't got much experience with those. I wouldn't want you to twist your ankle before tonight's event even started." He said jokingly.

"My hero." She said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"Actually, that's one of the things that I really like about you, Helga." He said, as he got serious. "you're not as stuck-up as some of the other girls that I've met. You're not into the typical, superficial things that most girls are into. You're down to earth and incredibly smart."

"Well, I would say that 'I aim to please', but I don't. But thanks, I am an incredible person." She said with a smirk.

"That you are."

_Arnold should have never broken up with you._ He thought.

"Are we also there yet?" She asked. "It's getting a bit cold."

"We are." He replied back. "Sorry Helga, but I wasn't able to find a parking spot closer to the restaurant. I'm actually surprised that this area is already busy. Although I've only come down here a few times, I've never seen this place so busy so early."

Sure enough, they arrived. The restaurant was called Le Pinot Blanche, a very fancy Italo-French restaurant. It was one of those places that you would only come for special occasions, given how expensive it is. Helga had heard of this place, but she never thought she would ever set foot in it.

"Whoa! You reserved two seats in this place?!" She surprisingly exclaimed. "How did you manage to do it?"

"I don't know. I just called them and asked to reserve for two seats tonight. The person I spoke to didn't indicate that she was having any problem in finding two seats." He explained.

Although never really the type of person to care of any fancy place, this one impressed her and...she was a bit excited to go in there. She had heard many beautiful things about it and it's one of the most popular restaurants to go in. It had been rated as one of the best restaurants in the country.

"Well, shall we?" Rodrigo said, as he opened the door for her with a smile.

Helga was so much in awe of having to actually go in there that it didn't even register Rodrigo's gesture of opening the door for her. With a smile on her face, she just went in.

Although it was hard to see from the entrance, the restaurant was beautifully and elegantly decorated. The lights were somewhat deemed so that it presented a romantic environment, but not so much that it was hard to see where you were going. There was red lights shining on the wall, presenting a type of romantic, rosary place.

Rodrigo then approached the waitress who was busy looking at a screen on the standing table.

"Excuse me?" Rodrigo politely said to the waitress. "I've reserved two seats for tonight."

"Certainly, and your name sir?" The waitress asked with a smile.

"Rodrigo Castile."

The waitress than looked at her screen for a few moments. When she saw his name, her smile instantly disappeared and then looked up again.

"Oh sir, I'm sorry, but we've unfortunately given your seats to someone else." She said.

"What? Why?" Rodrigo asked with a serious shock to his face. "But I've made reservations and the person whom I spoke to confirmed that two seats have been saved for us."

"Yes, they were reserved, but unless the guest makes a deposit, we cannot guarantee their seats if the restaurant becomes busy, which it is now." She explained.

"You have got to be joking?!" Rodrigo angrily yelled.

Helga was now annoyed by this turn of events. She just simply sighed and let her usual stoic facial expression come about on her face.

_Oh joy._ She thought sarcastically. _Well, there goes our fancy dinner._

"The person whom I spoke to never mentioned about any deposit!" Rodrigo angrily explained, raising his voice in the process. "Had I known about it, I would have paid it!"

"I'm terribly sorry for this inconvenience. Let me see if there are any seats that might be available." The waitress said.

"Please." Rodrigo begged.

The waitress had little doubt if any seats were going to be available. Most of the guests were already in the restaurants and only just arrived 5-20 minutes prior to Rodrigo and Helga. Yet, she attempted to see if there was any hope for this couple. After almost two minutes of searching,

"I'm really sorry sir, but all the tables are full. The next table won't be available for at least forty-five minutes to an hour."

"Damn it! That's not good enough!" Rodrigo shouted and banged his fist on top of the table, by now really losing his patience.

Rodrigo was now on the verge of completely losing it. He could not believe that such a crucial piece of information was not given to him and now his whole surprise evening for Helga was starting to go out the window!

But before he could say anything else, he suddenly felt a gentle touched on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw that it was Helga.

"Rodrigo," she calmly said to him. "it's ok. Let's just go somewhere else."

Just when it seemed that nothing was going to calm Rodrigo down unless he got them a seat, surprisingly, Helga's touch managed to calm him down and thereby, possibly saving tonight's date. Lessening his scowling face, he just turned around, gently grabbed Helga's hand and left the restaurant.

Without even speaking to Helga, Rodrigo instantly grabbed his phone and began to frantically look for other high class restaurants in the area, but they were either all booked, or had to wait for a really long time. For almost ten minutes, he found nothing. Helga said nothing and just patiently waited for him to either say something or find them another restaurant to go and eat.

Although annoyed that she wouldn't be able to dine at one of Hillwood's fanciest places, she felt bad for the Latino kid at how this little missed detailed nearly caused him to exploded. Given how angry he got at the waitress, Helga realized that whatever he planned for tonight, he wanted it to be perfect for her. That gestured alone was enough for her, despite Rodrigo's foul mood, to smile a bit.

"Found anything?" She calmly asked.

"Ya." He said, but with almost no enthusiasm. "It's not far from here. Let's go before we freeze."

In the end, Rodrigo managed to find another restaurant that was not very busy, but it was not the high class place that he hoped. It was more of a family, Friday night type of restaurant. It was enough to know that both teens were overdressed when they entered it. Rodrigo grudgingly accepted this and went there with Helga to eat.

Luckily for them, they were given a table right away and ordered some food. Although not a high class place, the menu did contain had a few fancy dishes, so both Rodrigo and Helga opted to order them. When their dish arrived, both teens were delighted that the food tasted very good. At least that didn't disappoint them.

Ever since entering the restaurant, Rodrigo remained silent, barely saying a word. By now, Helga was starving so initially she didn't mind the silence, but when it became clear to her that Rodrigo was still feeling down about their little fiasco with Le Pinot Blanche, Helga opted to give him some encouragement.

"Hmm, good food." She mumbled as she continued to chew.

"Ya, I guess." Rodrigo somberly responded back.

"Oh come on, Latino boy, look on the bright side." She said rather cheerfully. "I know your surprise didn't work out, but at least you found us this nice, cozy place. It would have been nice to have dined there, but honestly, I prefer this kind of place. It's more...homey. Besides, I thought I was supposed to be moody one." She continued while she took a bite from her food.

Rodrigo looked up with a bit of amusement on his face and wondered,

_Helga being optimistic? Where did that come from?_

He then began to smile a bit.

"I guess you're right." He said.

"That's the spirit." She said back.

"Besides, with the way you eat, they would have thrown us out of there." He continued with a chuckle.

"Hey! What's wrong with the way I eat?!" She asked, looking a bit offended.

Rodrigo, while still smiling, just gestured at her side of the table. When she looked down, she noticed that were some stain and small pieces of food around outside of her plate, while on Rodrigo's side, it was clean.

"Ok fine, so I eat like a pig. I was hungry, cut me some slack would ya?" She said while pouting a bit.

Rodrigo then extended his hand and waited for Helga for reciprocate. After a few months, she did.

"I don't care about that." He said. "That's nothing when compared to all of your good qualities. They don't even compare. Your failures alone tower over other people's successes."

Helga, looking at him with wide eyes, again to blush a bit.

"Well umm, I er, don't know about that, Latino boy." She said shyly, trying not to blush.

"I do." He said as he kissed her hand. "Thanks Helga."

"Don't mention it." She said with a smile. "Hey, you gonna eat that?" She asked as she pointed to piece of food that was still on his plate.

"No, you can have it." He said as he gave her his plate.

While Helga continued to pig out, Rodrigo just continued looking at her and smiled, admiring everything about her.

_She is something else..._He thought almost dreamly.

After having some dessert, Rodrigo then paid the bill and proceeded to walk out of the restaurant. Thankfully the night was not yet a total loss, as he still had time to take her to the botanical gardens.

"Alright, so what's the next phase of your 'glorious' plan?" She asked as they started walking back to the car.

"Still not telling." He said. "Besides, if I tell you, you may be skeptical about it."

"Why don't you try me?" She challenged him.

"I could, but nah." He teased her.

"Oh come on, just spill it out already!" She anxiously said to him. "I promise I'll still act surprised."

"Ok fine. I'm taking you to the botanical gardens." He confessed.

"The botanical gardens..." She said with a very skeptical tone. "You're taking little moi, to the botanical gardens? Do I look like Sheena to you?"

"Just trust me." He said. "I'm not just taking you there to admire a bunch of flowers. It's much more than that. You'll see."

**At the botanical gardens...**

After finally arriving at their destination, Rodrigo hoped that his next phase of his plan will not be another failure. He parked the car close to the entrance, got out, went inside, paid their tickets and went in.

Upon entering the dome, they were immediately met with a whole array of various kinds of plants and trees. Some were rather small, while other towered almost right to the roof of the dome. Rodrigo had never been to the botanical gardens in Hillwood, so for him this was a bit of a surprise.

"Wow..."He said astonishingly.

"Ya..." She said back genuinely.

"I take it you're a bit surprised?" He asked.

"A little bit." She admitted. "But don't get your hopes up yet."

"I'm not. You haven't yet seen the reason why I brought you here." He said.

The two teens took their time looking and visually scanning almost every plant, tree and flower they came across. Helga had never been to the botanical gardens before and was amazed at how well arranged they were, presenting an artistically beautiful comprehensive view, almost as if each flower, plant and tree had their place within this universe. Yet, there was also plenty of room for much creativity.

Although Rodrigo was growing a bit anxious about taking Helga to see the exhibit, he made no attempt to hurry them up. Rodrigo realized that Helga was taking her time looking around and seemed to be enjoying it, so he let her have her fun.

Finally, they were reaching the exhibit. Rodrigo grew more and more nervous, hoping that this piece would impress, if not even inspire her.

"We're almost there." He said.

"For what?" She asked.

"The reason why I brought you here." He replied as he gestured in front of them.

Curiously, Helga began to walk a bit faster, leaving Rodrigo behind and going to see for herself just what all the fuss was about.

There were large trees on both sides of the pathways that were blocking Helga's view, so she opted to walk faster in order to pass them. The second she did so, she looked at what was in front of her and her jaw dropped.

She didn't say anything, allowing only a gasp to escape her.

Right in front of her was a large mound, but it was completely covered with grass and many, many flowers of all kinds. Red, Green, Yellow, light green, purple, blue. Some were rather small, while others were larger than the average flower. Yet what was most profound when a spectator saw it was the arrangement. Like the rest of the dome, it was arranged in such a way that demonstrated clear intelligibility, but enough space for a blush of creativity to zoom through the entire exhibit. One could instantly tell of a battle going on between structure and creativity, between reason and emotion, between order and chaos.

Helga just stood there, completely in awe at what was in front of her. Rodrigo then slowly walked besides her, looking at the exhibit.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked.

"It's...it's..." She began to say. But then, instead of completing her sentence, she immediately reached for her purse, then took out a notebook and a pen and instantly began writing.

Rodrigo was about to ask just what was she writing, but he immediately stopped himself when he realized that she was inspired by the exhibit.

_Eureka!_ He thought excitedly.

While Helga was busy writing, Rodrigo walked to take a closer look at the exhibit. He went around and saw the vast arrays of flowers covering it. After he made his round, he took a few steps back to get a better view of it, almost reaching the end of the stop walk area on the other side.

Finally, Helga finished and walked towards Rodrigo.

"Inspired?" He asked.

"Definitely." She said.

"What did you write about?" He asked.

"Uh uh. Can't tell." She said. "It's my own personal little poem that I wrote.

"Ah come on." Rodrigo protested. "You can't tell me even a little bit of what you wrote?"

"Nope." She said.

"Is there anything that you can tell me right now? Like how you feel about this?" He asked as he pointed to the exhibit.

"I'll admit, I am impressed." She said with a smile. "Not because of that, but because you took a risk in bringing me here. I don't hate flowers, but I'm not much of a fan of them."

"Oh, I know that. That's why I didn't bring you here just for the flowers. I wanted to show you something more, something...poetic. I've gotten to know you a lot since we met and given what I know about you, bringing you wasn't much of a risk." He explained with his own smirk.

Helga then drew closer to him and then gently grabbed his tie, making him lean in closer to her.

"You sir are one cocky guy." She softly said to him before she then leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. She leaned in a bit too much because it forced to Rodrigo to learn against the fence that prevented people from walking into the gardens. After a few moments of kissing, they released each other.

"Happy Birthday, Helga." He said to her.

"Thank you, Rodrigo. This was nice." She said softly with a smile and proceeded to give him another kiss. This time, she came in a bit more aggressively, forcing Rodrigo to lean even more against the fence, causing it to make a small cracking sound. However, neither teen were bothered by it, as they were too busy into each other. They continued kissing for quite some time. Slowly but surely, they started opening their mouths a bit, allowing their tongues to come out a bit and getting closer and closer to each other...and began their French kiss when suddenly,

***CRACK***

"Whhhaaaaaa!"

The fence finally gave way due to the teens' weight and Rodrigo fell backwards, falling into the garden. Helga almost fell down with him, but she just barely managed to regain her balance and prevented herself from falling down.

"Ow, do'h, damn it, whoa, Ow!" Rodrigo yelled and groaned as he continued rolling down. Unfortunately, where he fell was a bit of a hill and not just a flat surface. As he continued to roll down, he was unable to stop himself until,

"AAAAHHHHHH!" He yelled in pain.

Helga just watched as her boyfriend helplessly rolled down and then cringed when she saw where Rodrigo landed.

"oooohhh. That's gotta hurt." She said.

**Forty-five minutes later...**

"Ow! Ooohhh! Ow, damn it! Ow!" Rodrigo agonizingly screamed and groaned in pain

"Ugh, hold still would ya? The guy is almost done." Helga said to him as she restrained him by holding his hand.

Rodrigo had landed on top of a cactus garden. He landed on his back, letting the cactus' needle to stab his left backside and buttocks. Luckily for him the cactus' needles were not big at all, so the needles were thin that did not cause any serious internal damage. The staff personnel had to use women leg wax and a special paper, in which he placed it on top of the needles, letting him rip out as many needles out of Rodrigo's body as he could with one go. There were just too many for the guy to take them out one by one.

"Just think of it as if you are getting a royal beauty treatment." Helga joked with a smirk.

"Not, Ow, funny, ow, Helga, ow!" He barked at her. "Ow! Are you almost done?!"

"Yup." Said the personnel as he ripped out the last paper with wax on it. "Now we just have to get you cleaned up and put a few patches around your wounds."

Rodrigo just groaned and slumped his head down.

"Hey, don't look so glum." Helga said to him. "It doesn't look so bad. Although, you may not be able to sit properly for a while."

"How reassuring of you." He said sarcastically.

The personnel then came back and starting sterilizing and cleaning Rodrigo's wounds, then patched them up.

"There you go." He said. "Just be sure you clean them up and you change patches every few days. You should be good within the week."

"Thank you sir." Rodrigo said softly to him.

The personnel then got up and left, leaving the two teens on their own.

"You gonna be ok?" Helga asked.

"Ya, I will...eventually." He said, as he slowly attempted to put this pants and shirt back on.

Feeling like an old man, Rodrigo groaned and grunted as he slowly put his clothes back on. Once Rodrigo was dressed up, the teens decided to call it a night and head home.

"Hey, are you going to be able to drive?" Helga asked as they made their way out of the building.

"Not like we have a choice. You can't drive and I'm not leaving the car here." He said.

"Who said I can't drive? I may not have a license, but I can actually drive pretty well." She countered.

"I'm driving." He said firmly as he opened the door for her.

"Suit yourself." She said as she climbed into the car.

Throughout the ride back home, Rodrigo said nothing. Apart from having to endure the pain on his entire left backside, he felt extremely frustrated at how horribly wrong this evening went. Helga took a glance at him and saw that he looked both furious and sad that his surprise had become a nightmare.

Finally, they safely made it back into their neighbourhood.

"Rodrigo, stop the car." Helga suddenly said to him.

"What, why?" He asked.

"Just stop, please." She said again.

Rodrigo heeded her request and pulled over onto a street, safely away from the main road. He then parked the car and turned the engine off.

Before Helga a chance to say anything, Rodrigo quickly began to talk first.

"Helga, I'm really sorry about tonight." He said. "I wanted this day to be really special for you, but all I've did was just make a huge mess of things..."

"Rodrigo, stop." She firmly cut him off, prompting him to look at her.

"You have nothing to apologize about." She said to him.

"I'll admit, this wasn't the best date that I've ever had. Seeing my boyfriend get pierced by a bunch of cactuses was not thrilling at all. Ok, it was a bit funny. But, despite it all, I had a lot of fun tonight." She said.

"You did?" He surprisingly asked.

"Yes, but not for the reasons that you are thinking of." She said.

"Come again?" He asked.

Helga took a deep breath and then exhaled before she continued.

"Everything that you planned tonight; the fancy dinner, the nice dress up and going to the botanical gardens to see an exhibit, it was all really nice, but that's not what made me happy tonight. What made me happy was just how much thought and effort you put into all of this. You went out of your way to make this a fun and special time for me and to me, that's what counted. Tonight's events were really nice and we could do them again, but I don't care for them. What matters to me is what you were willing to do for me; the effort, the thought, the attempt in making me want to smile, that will always tower over a fancy restaurant or nice clothes any time." She explained.

Rodrigo was speechless and didn't know what to say. Although he never considered Helga to be a materialist, he thought these events would impress her.

"I'll be frank with you, I didn't have much expectations about you remembering, let alone caring about my birthday." She continued with a rather sad look. "Not because I thought you were inconsiderate, or just a dick. It's just my defense mechanism. So many people have disappointed me in the past and I just...didn't want to get hurt again. But you proved to me tonight that you are willing to go the distance, to go through the pain, pun intended." She continued with a smirk. "It shows me that you are committed, committed to us and that's what's important to me. So, thank you Rodrigo."

Rodrigo said nothing and just cracked open a smile. He then gently grabbed her hand and kissed it. Then, he used his other hand to reach into his pocket and pulled out a little present box, his coupe de grâce.

"The surprises are not yet over." He said as he gave her the little present box.

"You are just full of surprises tonight, aren't you?" She said to him, looking genuinely surprised.

She took out the ribbon, opened the box and the pulled a beautiful necklace. But it wasn't just any necklace. Instead of a typical heart, or cross, it had the shape of a paper with a plum on the side. The paper design looked white, while the plum had a mixture of gold and blue colour.

"Rodrigo..." She gasped. "It's beautiful!"

"Open it." He said.

When she did, she saw that it had an inscription inside it and although she was able make out the two words, she couldn't read them because they were not in English.

"Excitare Aude?" She asked.

"Yup. It's Latin. It means 'Dare to inspire'." He said.

Helga looked at him a bit confusingly, not really getting the meaning of the phrase.

"Remember back in November, when we went to the Linkin Park concert? What we talked about Martin Heidegger's idea of Dasein and being in the world, etc?" He asked.

"Ya." She said.

"When we spoke about you either being an imprint of the world, or you making your own imprint, your own sense of being into the world. When I was trying to find something to get you, I went back to that night and that's where I got this idea to make that inscription. I know how much like you like to write poetry and stories, so as a writer, you make your mark upon the world, you mold all of this into your own sense of understanding and you endure that you not only survive, but thrive in it. That's why I put that inscription; I guess it's a challenge for you to not just continue with that path, but to even exceed it. Don't let just your words make this world, but you also. You have a lot to offer, so be an inspiration to the world."

Helga said nothing and just continued to either look at him with wide eyes or glance at the beautiful necklace that he bought for her.

"Rodrigo, I er, um, thank you." She said, still clearly speechless by all of this. "I don't know what to say."

"May I?" He asked, gesturing if he would have the honor in putting the necklace on her.

Helga accepted it and gave him the necklace, then turned around, moved her long blonde hair to one side. Rodrigo then wrapped the necklace around her neck and shut it.

"There, beautiful." He said with a smile.

Helga, still clearly speechless, felt a bit overwhelmed by all of this. Even though they have only been dating a few weeks, this kind and surprising gesture made Helga feel something that she hadn't felt in a long time; a sense of worth and belonging. She felt...dare she thought it...loved. While still taken in by all of this, she then suddenly launched herself onto Rodrigo, hugged him and began to kiss him. Although a bit surprised, Rodrigo returned the gesture.

After a few moments of kissing, they let each other go, but they were still clearly immersed with one another. With big smiles on their faces, Rodrigo then started the engine, only for the motor to stutter, then made a weird a groan until it finally just died. Rodrigo then attempted to turn the engine again, only for it to make a cranking sound, but did not turn on. It then went dead.

"You have got to be f***** kidding me?!" Helga exclaimed.

**The day after...**

Helga was in her room, lying on her bed with a book on top of her bed and stacks of paper. While fidgeting her new necklace with one hand, she was busy writing a letter with her other hand.

_Hiya football head,_

_How's that small little country still treating ya? I hope you didn't manage to fall too far behind in your studies again. You really need to manage your time properly, Arnoldo._

_I just received your first letter since you left us, again, for San Lorenzo. That was fast! Looks like you miss us or are just plain bored there because not only did you write us a letter after only going back a few weeks ago, but you hardly wrote anything interesting, other than you arriving back there safely. Haven't you yet gone to any clubs there and shoving off your moves, just as Rodrigo taught you?_

_Well, nothing much is going on here. School is back, so as mere students in this little scenario, we are compelled to return to that old deteriorating building that we call 'higher education'. I don't know what else to tell you other than that Rodrigo..._

Helga stopped writing and thought if she should even write about yesterday's event to Arnold. She looked at the necklace while she pondered about it. Was it too early? Will he get upset? Should she even say anything at all?

_This is a bit awkward to write this, but Rodrigo took me out last night for my birthday. Turns out that he didn't know when my birthday was and neither I or any of our friends told him. Funny, huh? To make up for it, he took me out and it was...really nice. I had a lot of fun. Ok, Rodrigo had an accident when he fell on top of a bunch of cactuses, but he wasn't seriously hurt. He just needs to lay down, but not sit down on his butt for a while. Where did this accident occur, you ask? He took me to the botanical gardens. I honestly didn't even know this city even had one. _

Satisfied with that she wrote, she then decided to change topic.

_It's been a bit disappointing on having to go back to the way things were before you visited us. I felt like when you were here, even if it was only a week, it felt like...old times. I missed that, really. I know that, given that I am dating Rodrigo now, things will be a little awkward between us for a while. But I have hope that we can one day be friends, as you promised that we would be. I would really like that, Arnold. I would not want to ever cut you out of my life. That would be too much to bear._

_Keep up with your studies and come back to visit us soon._

_Chao,_

_Helga G. Pataki._

Once she was done, Helga gently put the letter inside her binder, closed it and then put it inside her closet. After that, she went back to her bed to lie down and listen to some music, all while fidgeting with her new necklace.


	5. Chapter 5 - April Fools Day

**March 31...**

It was now the end of school. The weather was still terrible, although there were glimpses that spring was just around the corner. Yet students of all kinds continued on with their daily lives, braving the weather head on.

For one particular kid, spring could not come earlier. Indeed, ever since they started dating only half a month ago, he had been anxious to go out more with her not just on dates, but even on vacations and fun events. Due to the weather, their dates have usually been restricted to either going to dinner, or just sitting in either of their living rooms and doing homework or just watching a movie; whenever their parents weren't home. Well that, and there was the usual arcade and movie theatres. But now with spring creeping ever so closer, Rodrigo Castile could hardly wait to get out more and spend their first spring and the summer time together.

He had a lot going on in this mind. He had recently planned Helga's special birthday event, which to his relief, wasn't a total disaster. Now he was thinking about what he could possibly do with her when the weather warmed up a bit. Perhaps a nice walk to the park, walking down by the river and lake, perhaps going to the beach with their friends? There was indeed a lot of planning that he wanted and needed to do. However right now, he put all of those ideas and thoughts aside and prioritized. There was now one thing that he felt that he needed to do and that was to get back at Helga for that stunt that she pulled on both Arnold and him when he took the football head to his first club in Hillwood.

Rodrigo had not forgiven her for making him and Arnold run for their lives during the final day of Arnold's stay, not to mention humiliating him by making him faint at the boarding house. Despite it being more than two weeks since the stunt, Rodrigo still felt embittered that she would do something like that. Even while he planned Helga's birthday surprise, he was also planning on how to get back at her. He wasn't joking when he said that he was going to get her back. After some thought, he concluded that he should pull a heinous prank on her on none other, April Fool's Day.

As Rodrigo closed his locker and proceeded to go to the bus lane to go home, he felt a bit contradictive. He was both delighted in coming up with a plan to prank his own girlfriend, but he also shivered at the heinous thought of doing something like that. Rodrigo has never been a fan of April Fool's day. He never liked pulling pranks on his friends or classmates just for the sheer fun of it and it was infuriating when someone pulled a prank on him. He had always thought it was bit cruel, if not downright sadistic. But this year was an exception.

_I'm going to make Helga pay for scaring me like that._ He thought bitterly.

Yet at the same time, he didn't want to go too far. He just wanted to prank her, but not cross a line where it would cause her to retaliate, or create any lasting harm in their relationship. He just wanted to get even, not break her. That's why he decided to do something a bit...typical. As part of his April Fool's day, he came up with a plan to put a toy rat inside Helga's locker and scare the living lights out of her.

_She's a girl and girls are scared of rats_. Rodrigo thought and made a mischievous grin. _At it's worse, she'll make a big scream and cower at the sight of a vermin, hehehehe._

Rodrigo had planned this out well. He concluded that even if people se Helga become so afraid of a rat, it would not be total humiliation for her, as many other girls would also not find this prank to be funny, nor strange. Rats, in the minds of many people, are the bringers of death and pestilence, so for Rodrigo, it was a natural choice to use one of mankind's nemesis as a prank. Plus, unlike Nadine, Helga had never display any interest in 'unpet' like creatures, such as snakes or tarantulas. Sure, she had that monitor lizard once, but the reptile never really lived in her house. Plus, it was a lizard. This was a rat. Hence, there was no reason to believe that Helga would not be scared of rats. Rodrigo concluded that people would be somewhat sympathetic to Helga if they saw her cower before a rat. If Helga was scared of something that is not generally considered to be repulsive or hideous, ya, that would be humiliating for her.

He had planned everything out, right down to the smallest detail. He wanted to make sure that neither Helga, nor anyone else, would be none the wiser. All he had to do was wait just one more day so he can set his plan into motion.

_Sorry love, but this will teach you not to mess with me._ He thought as he headed home for the day.

**On April Fool's day...**

The day could not have started out better for Rodrigo. While going home with his friends yesterday and coming back to school that morning, there was no mention by anyone of April Fool's Day, nor he make any attempt to bring it up. As far as he was aware, Helga was completely obvious to his diabolical plan.

While on the bus, Rodrigo continued acting normally as always. Helga was right beside him and despite his animosity, he was still infatuated with her. He held her hand the entire time they were on the bus and Helga even leaned against him in order to make herself more comfortable. Rodrigo just intimately kissed her head a few times and leaned his head against hers. Rodrigo felt that Helga was in a good mood today and so decided that he would proceed with his plan. Had she been in a foul mood, he would have either delayed it or another day or called it off completely.

Even after they got off the bus and went about their daily routine, Rodrigo still acted normally. Once the bell rang, everyone said their goodbyes and proceeded to start their school day.

While at his first class, Rodrigo excused himself to go to the bathroom. Although his teacher gave him a bit a frown for interrupting his class, he gave Rodrigo his permission to let him go. Wasting no time, Rodrigo immediately went to Helga's locker. Just a week ago, Helga was unlocking her locker. Rodrigo was with her. While pretending to look at his phone, Rodrigo glanced at her lock and managed to see her combination. Memorizing it by memory, he acted none the wiser and simply continued to look at his phone while Helga got her stuff from her locker. Upon approaching her locker, Rodrigo easily opened it, grabbed the rubber rat from his bag, it on the shelve that was directly at her eyesight, closed it and then went back to class.

_April Fool's Day, Helga, hehehehehe._ Rodrigo mischievously laughed in thought.

**During lunch time...**

Rodrigo entered the lunchroom and went to their usual lunch table and sat down. While walking, he saw a few teens pulling a few pranks on their fellow classmates. One teen gave his friend some chocolate, only for it to be a black ,sticky substance that prevented him from opening his mouth. Another teen let a female student try on her new perfume, only for a stinky smell to come out, making the female student gag.

Rodrigo just smiled a bit at the pranks, but just continued walking without much of a fuss. He tried not to grin as he approached their lunch table spot.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Rodrigo asked once he had arrived there.

"Hey."

"Yo."

"What's up?"

His friends all nonchalantly said. Rodrigo quickly noticed, much to his delight, that Helga was not at their table. He hoped she would be at her locker. He thought if he should ask Phoebe where she was, but he was afraid that might be an awkward question to ask and he did not want to jeopardize his plan, so he opted out from asking. He just quietly ate his lunch while they all conversed. Again he tried not to grin at just thinking about how much Helga was about to suffer.

"So Phoebe, how was your science class this morning?" Nadine suddenly and very curiously asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it was actually rather interesting." She said. "We had to dissect a frog and a mouse and then make a comparison between the biology of an amphibian and a mammal. It was actually very interesting. You saw a lot of similarities between the two species."

"Oh my god!" Rhonda suddenly exclaimed while squirming and shivering. "I cannot believe you dissected a rat and you find that interesting!" She said while shivering. "I cannot believe how you people would find that entertaining at all!"

"Point of correction; it was a mouse, not a rat." Phoebe said to her. "But granted Rhonda, I understand that mice and rats have never been a well accepted animal in human society, but once you get past your fears of them, their anatomy and the habitats that they call home tend to be very interesting indeed. These rodents are able to live almost virtually anywhere, even in cold environment and their ability to reproduce would put any mammal, even, *giggle* some members of our species to shame."

"Please, spare me the lecture on rodents Phoebe." Rhonda said dismissively. "I'm already regretting in even getting involved in your conversation on dissecting... *gulp* rats." *shudder*.

Rhonda than quickly went back to texting away, allowing Nadine and Phoebe to further discuss the topic at hand.

Rodrigo meanwhile was listening to all of this and he found it intriguing that out of all days, the issue of mice and rats was being discussed. Curious to see how Helga felt about rodents and if his plan to prank was indeed going to work, he opted to intervene in their conversation.

"Both of you girls are not at all creeped out about mice or rats?" He asked. "Correction; you Phoebe are not creeped out all? Nadine, I'll assume that you are not and if you are, I'll be very surprised."

"None at all, Rodrigo." Nadine responded back. "I don't find them in the least bit repulsive. I'm interested in them; that's why I asked Phoebe about it."

"Although I have a bit less enthusiasm than Nadine," Phoebe then answered, "I'm not really frightened by them. I used to find them repulsive when I was younger, like most girls. Then one day, I figured that part of the reason why I was afraid of them ws because I didn't generally know anything about them. That's why I decided to study them and find out what they are really all about. Eventually, that knowledge made all that fear and phobia go away."

"That's interesting." Rodrigo said. "I knew that through knowledge, our fears can be tamed. So I'd take it that after you got rid of your fears of rats and mice, you and Helga didn't mind if you saw one, or even tried to catch one, just out of curiosity?"

"Oh good heavens, no!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Helga would never go anywhere near a rat or mice."

_Ah ha! Gotcha, Helga!_ Rodrigo cheered in his thoughts.

"Really?" Rodrigo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Out of all the things where Helga can be a typical girl, a rat is the one area where she comes one?" As he took a bit out of his lunch.

"Not scared, Rodrigo. She has a phobia of them." Phoebe said.

That sentence made Rodrigo instantly stop eating and forced him to look at Phoebe with wide open eyes. He quickly chewed his food, swallowed it and then began to interrogate this further.

"Phobia?" He asked rather nervously. "W-W-What do you mean by that?"

Phoebe looked at him rather confusingly. "I mean that she an inept, excessive fear for rats or mice. The correction term is musophobia. I'm surprised you don't know what the word, 'phobia' means, Rodrigo. It's a Greek word meaning 'fear'."

"I know what the word means." He said, almost retorting back. "What I meant to ask was, how bad would she react if she ever came across one?" He continued more calmly.

"Well, based on what she told me, the fear would force her to become completely motionless, which could quite possibly trigger a panic attack, not to mention that she could become very hysterical." She explained. "It's not a nice experience at all. Apart from the possible humiliation, a person's phobia starts to completely control them; the person has very little way of being able to re-assert control unless they are either helped or the object that is triggering their phobia is removed from the scene."

Rodrigo initially didn't say anything and just went white. No worse, he felt he was going to faint. He just continued to blindly stare, but not focusing on anything else other than the increasingly huge mistake that he just made.

"Phoebe, where is Helga now?" He finally said, now with a more serious tone in his voice.

"I'm not sure, but the last time I saw her, she said she was going to her locker." She said.

This was one of the few occasions where Rodrigo felt that he saw his life flash right before his eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt like a dead man. He wasn't scared of what Helga would do to him if she fell for his prank. He just all of a sudden felt very guilty and remorseful on putting Helga at risk in exposing her phobia to practically everyone in school. He had never intended to go this far; this was why he didn't like pulling pranks to begin with! Now, all he think of was trying to get to Helga and save her from humiliating herself.

"Excuse me." He said calmly before getting up and then sprinting right out of the lunchroom, much to the confusion of his friends.

_What have I done?!_ He thought to himself, as he bolted towards Helga's locker. _I can't believe I would put my own girlfriend's wellbeing at risk like this! If she opens her locker, I would never forgive myself. I gotta stop her!_

Rodrigo wasted no time and just continued to spring towards Helga's locker. Eventually, he turned around a corner and saw her right at her locker, attempting to open it, much to his horror.

Rodrigo gain sprinted and prayed he could get to her on time. As he ran, he could saw that she was turning the needle, trying to unlock it. As if he could almost hear it, he could tell that she made it to the first number, then the second and then finally...

"Helga, for God sakes don't open it!" He cried out as he pushed her away.

"What the..hey?!" Helga yelled, as she felt the sudden force, which caused to her completely fall right into the ground on her side, splattering her books around the hallway.

For a brief second time stopped, but Rodrigo thought he had succeed in preventing a horrible mistake from occurring. He could instantly feel a huge sense of relief. Ok sure, he might have physically hurt Helga, but that was nothing when compared to what she could have experienced. However, just as he turned to face her opened locker,

***slush***

a pie hit his face hard, causing him to fall down. He didn't hit his head, but the sudden strike of a pie right into his face, fazed him a bit and for a little while, was not able to comprehend just what happened. Then, he started hearing laughter. At first, it was only a few laughs, but then he could hear other people laughing. Then, he heard, much to his shock, Helga laughing!

"Hahahaha, April Fool's, Latino boy, hahahaha!" She laughed as she got up from the ground. Well, she tried to get up from the ground. She was laughing so hard that she had having trouble getting up.

"What?!" he muffled out.

Rodrigo did nothing and continued to lie on the ground, listening to the laughs around him and still reeling from the shock. He really was unable, or probably unwilling to comprehend what had just happened to him. Eventually, he managed to get his thoughts straightened and get out of his shock to realize that he had been duped, again!

"Hahahaha, oh my god, I wish I could have seen the look on your face when that pie hit you, hahahaha!" Helga continued to laugh hard, trying not to fall down again.

She was quickly joined by the other students who saw the whole thing and started laughing as well.

"Hey!" Helga quickly and angrily called out to everyone who was laughing, prompting everyone to go completely silent. Her laughter had completely disappeared, replacing it with a serious and scowling face.

"That's my boyfriend down here!" She commented as she pointed to Rodrigo down at the floor, indicating to everyone that only she had the privilege of laughing at his expense. Apart from a few additional giggles, none starting laughing again.

_My Hero_. He thought annoyingly.

After giving everyone a scowling face, Helga turned back and began to giggle a bit, still finding it amusing that she had managed to out beat in his own game.

Suddenly, Rodrigo then lifted an arm and pointed at her with his index and middle finger. Helga didn't understand this ancient gesture and just started at him confusingly.

"What are you pointing at?" She asked him. "Are you trying to give me the middle finger?"

Rodrigo then used his other arm to remove some of the cream that was on top of his mouth and began to talk.

"In Roman times, when a gladiator was defeated in the arena, he would usually point his index and middle finger at his opponent. It was the defeated person's way of asking for mercy and to let him live. The decision was not on the triumphant gladiator, but on the Roman who organized that entire event. Only he had the power to offer mercy and yet even he was sometimes influenced by the mood of the crowd." Rodrigo explained.

"Hmm, interesting." Helga said half-heartedly. "Ok sure." as she grabbed Rodrigo's hand and lifted him up.

Rodrigo had understood the whole message behind Helga's secondary prank; you do not try and out prank someone who is essentially a veteran from orchestrating all kinds of schemes and pranks since she was a kid. He had heard the many stories of Helga's various schemes or pranks that she would come up and attempt to pull on her friends, including on a certain football head. Rodrigo had little experience in this and realized just how arrogant he was in trying to out best her in her own game.

"Wait here." She said as she went to go to the nearest bathroom to get some toilet paper.

By now, the students that initially clambered around Rodrigo and Helga had moved on.

Rodrigo attempted to wipe some of the cream from his face, but it was difficult to get all of it out, especially if it was on his hair and sweater. After a short while, Helga came up with a bunch of wet and dry toilet paper.

Still feeling incredibly annoyed, Rodrigo said nothing and simply gestured her to hand him the toilet paper so he can clean himself up. Instead, Helga approached and began to wipe the cream off of his face. Initially, Rodrigo wanted to pull away and just do it himself. Apart from the fact that he never liked being babied around, he was fuming at her for fooling him a second time, this time in front of other people! Yet, he couldn't help but feel somewhat relaxed from Helga gently and somewhat lovingly, wiping his face clean. It didn't just feel relaxing, it also felt...therapeutic. Whatever anger he was initially feeling towards her was fading away, allowing him to calm down.

"How did you find out?" He asked.

"I took your threat about getting back at me seriously." She said to him. "I had no doubt in my mind that eventually you would try to pull something against me. I just didn't know when and what, but I got the feeling that you would try to pull something on April Fool's Day. You can be predictable sometimes, Latino boy. I know that you are not into pulling pranks, so it was predictable of you to try to do something today."

"For the last few days you acted normally, too normally. I knew then that you were planning something, so I kept my guard up the whole time. Today, I don't know why, but I decided to check my locker, just to see if you put something in there. During second period, I left class and went to check. From someone with a history in breaking into other people's lockers, call it a sixth sense."

_Ya, breaking into Arnold's locker to either prank him or steal something from him to remember him by._ Rodrigo thought annoyingly.

"How did you react when you saw the rat?" He asked.

**During second period...**

Helga carefully unlocked her locker and gently opened, waiting to see if her own boyfriend had booby trapped it. As soon as she opened it, she was met by a pair of red eyes staring right back at her.

***gasp*** She gasped.

The second she saw that toy rat, her eyes widen, she dropped her book and due to the amount of fear that was not permeating her entire body, she couldn't move. Completely petrified, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. However, she barely managed to gather enough of her strength to slowly take a few steps back away from her locker.

_Just breathe in, Helga and breathe out. Remember what the doc said; they cannot hurt you._ She calmly tried to tell herself in thought.

After a few minutes and using all the techniques she learned, she eventually managed to bring her fear under control, even to the point of almost letting it out of her system.

Once she recovered from her almost hysterical moment, she sighed in relief, but then began to angrily frown.

"Ugh, so this is now he wants to play?" She angrily said to herself as she grabbed the toy rat and squeezed it. "Alright, if that's how you want go, then let's play." She said with a grin.

She then grabbed her cell and began to text message Phoebe.

**Helga: Pheebs, can you leave class for a bit? I have a situation...**

**Phoebe: What is it, Helga?**

**Helga: Rodrigo tried to prank me, ME Pheebs, on April Fool's Day. I think it's time we show him who he is messing with. PS, he tried to scare me with a toy rat.**

**Phoebe: Oh dear! Well, that did you have in mind?**

**Helga: A little taste of his own medicine. Come quick!**

Helga only needed to wait for a few minutes before she saw Phoebe running towards her locker.

"I came as fast as I could." She said while panting. "How did he try to prank with a toy rat?"

"By placing it inside my locker." She said as she handed Phoebe the rubber rat. "He must have seen my combination at some time."

"Oh!" Phoebe exclaimed. "But, how does he know that you have a rat phobia? Did you tell him?"

"No. I think it's just a coincidence that he would try to prank me on a typical girl's fear." Helga said.

"Are you ok?" Phoebe asked rather concernedly.

"I'm alright. I managed to control myself before my fears got the best of me." She said.

"Well, that's a relief." Her best friend said. "So did you come up with a plan on how to get back at him?"

"Not yet..." She said while thinking. "He doesn't know that we discovered his prank, so we can use that against him, but how?"

The girls thought about this for a little while.

"Oh!" Phoebe said. "Remember back in the fourth grade, when you stuffed a boxing glove inside Arnold's locker? We use could the same idea."

"Oh ya!" Helga said while smiling mischievously. "We could. Let's go to the gym right now and get one."

"Actually," Phoebe quickly interjected before Helga set off to the nearest gym. "Arnold did complain that his jaw hurt a bit for a while due to that April Fool's prank. I think maybe we should lessen the prank down a bit. You want to get back at him, not hurt him."

"I guess." Helga just shrugged.

"How about a pie?" Phoebe suggested.

"Hmm, that could work." Helga said while rubbing her chin. "Would you know if the school cafeteria still has some of that pie that they served yesterday?"

"I believe so. That pie wasn't particularly good, so I'm sure they have a few leftovers." Phoebe said.

"Perfect. You go get some pie and I'll get a spring to launch it." Said Helga. "Now, there's only the matter of getting him to come here and force him to open my locker instead of me."

"Well, why not use your phobia to your advantage? We can tell him the truth. It could make him feel guilty enough that it could entice him to come here and prevent you from opening your own locker."

"I'm not sure about that, Pheebs." Helga. "I don't think he likes me that much that he will want to sabotage his own prank. If anything, it might delight him into thinking that his prank will scare the living lights out of me."

"That is possible, but I'm confident that Rodrigo will not want to take it that far." Phoebe countered. "He really likes you and he although he wants to get back at you, he doesn't want to humiliate you, or cause you any serious harm. Based on my analysis on his behaviour, I am confident that we can use your phobia to guilt-trip him into sabotaging his own prank; use his concern for your wellbeing to your own advantage."

"Phoebe, you're more diabolical than I am!" Helga said shockingly. "I'm proud of you." She said with a smile.

"Thank you." Phoebe responded with her own smile.

"I'm still not sure if that will be enough, but it's not like we have any other options and time is running out, so let's do that. You can start a conversation with someone during lunch and somehow, bring the subject up." Helga suggested.

"That'll be perfect! We are dissecting frogs and rodents in my science class and comparing their organs; I could use that to strike up a conversation with Nadine, which we can then direct the conversation to talk about mice and rats. It'll be a perfect cover up."

"Perfect. I love it how everything falls into play, hehehehe." Helga with an almost evil grin. "This will show the fool not to make a fool out of me. Let's get everything ready fast before our teachers realize that we ditched class."

And with that, both teens quickly went to bring all the accessories for their little prank.

**Back in the present...**

"B-but how? I thought you had musophobia?!" He asked her.

"I used to. I went to therapy a few years back to try and control my fear of rats. I still can't stand them, but I'm now able to control my fear." She said while smirking at him triumphantly.

Rodrigo groaned in frustration.

"I hate you so much right now." He bitterly said at her.

"Serves you right for trying to prank me by using my phobia, if even if you didn't know about it." She said to him. "That, and also for being really predictable; I mean you trying to prank the prankster on April Fool's day, the one day where everyone was going to keep their guards up? You have a lot to learn, Latino boy."

Seeing as her gloating was only causing Rodrigo to scowl more at her, Helga eased up a bit.

"If it takes you feel any better, I thought it was very 'brave' and 'sweet' of you pushing me away to make sure that I don't get pranked." She said to him softly. "My hero." She said sarcastically to him.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." He said while pouting.

"There. You're clean now." She said with a smile. "Here, you can clean the few smudges from your sweater."

"Thanks." He said. "I can't believe that Phoebe was in on this."

"Yup. She played her part well." She said with a smile.

Rodrigo said nothing and just frowned.

"Thanks though." She then said.

"For what?" he asked her.

"For coming to make sure that I was ok. Despite Phoebe's calculation in using my phobia to guilt-trip you into sabotaging your own prank, I honestly didn't think you were going to do anything once Phoebe told you about my phobia. But judging with the way you were running towards me to make sure that I was ok...well, thanks for caring." She said with a genuine smile.

"I wanted to pull a prank on you; I didn't want to humiliate you." He said. "But you're welcome."

"No, you did that for me." She said while giggling a bit.

"I still hate you." He grumbled.

"Sure you do. I know you like me." She tauntingly said to him. "C'mon, admit it. It's ok, I already know."

"Nope. Still hate you." He pouted

"And I lov...I mean uh, umm I like you. Like, not the other 'L' word, just like." She said nervously, completing shocking herself that she almost, just almost said the 'L' word!

_Crimeny, I can't believe I almost told him that I loved him! Where did that come from?!_ She thought to herself. _Do...do I really love him? So soon? No, it's too soon for me to say that. It was just a slip of the tongue. Yeah, that's what it is. I have to make a mental note to not say that word again until I am ready. _

Helga's little, 'slip of the tongue', wasn't lost to Rodrigo and looked at her with surprise.

_Did she almost say 'I love you'?_ He thought. _Isn't it too soon?_

He decided to not ponder about it. He too thought it was too soon for either of them to say that word.

"Fine. I _like_ you too, Helga." He said to her, heavy emphasis on the word, 'like', reassuring her that right now, that's where they are at; they like 'like' each other.

Helga, taking the hint, smiled and just grabbed his face gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Hmm, you taste sweet." She flirtatiously said to him.

The two teens then stared at each other, then smiled and then suddenly,

"Hahahahahah! Did you actually believe your own cheesy, sexual joke?" Rodrigo asked while he laughed.

"Hahahaha, no I didn't." Helga responded while also laughing. "Oh man, that was funny! But, you are sweet. Thanks." She said with a smile

Helga then grabbed Rodrigo's hand and held it tightly. Rodrigo just smiled and reciprocated.

**After school...while on the bus...**

Rodrigo was on the bus, heading home. Despite conceiving defeat and even having a laugh or two earlier today, he was still grumpy that Helga had managed to prank him twice. Helga was not with them on the bus. She had to stay after school due to a meeting for the school's poetry club. It was thus Rodrigo and their friends, Phoebe among them.

One of the things that really bothered Rodrigo about all of this was how Phoebe could have agreed to prank him twice. It was actually a bit shocking for him to accept that Phoebe, out of all people, would willingly want to pull a prank on someone. This was something that he had expected Gerald to do, even Rhonda, but not Phoebe! Wanting some answers, Rodrigo then switched seats and sat behind Phoebe. He then tapped her shoulder to get her attention, prompting her to turn around.

"Yes, Rodrigo?" She asked.

"You diabolical person you." He said to you. "I never would have suspected you ever volunteering to prank someone.

"Oh, that." She said rather sheepishly. "I didn't do it because I think it's fun to prank someone."

"Huh?" Rodrigo asked confusingly.

"To be perfectly honest," She said, "I've never been fond of pulling a prank on any of my fellow students. It just seemed too...mean. Ok, today's prank was a bit funny, but not that funny."

"So then why did you agree to help Helga prank me not once, but twice?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When Helga first came to me about your request to take Arnold to a club and how she was planning on getting back at you for ever making that request, I only agreed to help her because it felt like I was seeing the old Helga again; the one whom she used to be before Arnold left."

Phoebe looked at Rodrigo and noticed that he was giving her a confusing look. He wasn't getting how Helga pulling two pranks on him made Phoebe feel all sensitive about it, so she proceeded to explain herself.

"You shouldn't be taking these pranks as completely negative, Rodrigo. Rather, take them as a good thing."

"Please explain how me fainting after you two wielded two sharp knives at us, and me getting hit with a pie is suppose to be a good thing." He said quite sternly.

"It means that the old Helga that we knew is coming up back to us. She is opening up again." Phoebe said. "When Arnold left, Helga completely shut herself out, showing no enthusiasm, or any passion in anything. There were days that when I saw her, all I saw was a shell of the once strong, no-nonsense, sharp tongued girl that I grew up with." Phoebe then looked down sadly, recalling the sad and often painful memories of those days.

Rodrigo took notice of Phoebe's sad demeanor, but didn't say anything.

"So when she asked me to help her pull a prank on you after you guys came back from the club, I could not help but agree to it. The way she spoke to me about the plan, there was so much passion, so much thought put into it, so much...life. It's as if, the old Helga that I knew when we were kids came back. I heard it! There was no way that I could have said no to her." Phoebe continued, but now smiling.

"It was the same today. I wish you could have seen her. She felt so confident and...happy. Yes, it was a bit cruel to pull that prank on you, but that's what makes Helga, Helga. She had always had this rather callous, but loving side to her. And after three years, I'm seeing that again."

Rodrigo still said nothing but allowed a small smile to develop on his face at the wonderful news.

"That, and I don't think you should have gone to the club, even if Helga gave you permission." She continued with a nervous smile.

Rodrigo's smile than disappeared, almost giving Phoebe a frown. However, he reframed from doing that.

"That's, that's great, Phoebe. Thanks for telling me this." He said. "I'm really glad to hear that Helga is pulling herself out of this...heavy, somber shadow and finally letting us her as the person she was always meant to be."

Phoebe then extended her hand and grabbed Rodrigo's.

"No, thank you." She said with a smile. "I'm slowly getting my best friend back. I don't know where she would have been without you."

Rodrigo said nothing other than holding her hand a bit tight and smiled at her.

Both teens then let go and Phoebe went back to talking to Gerald. Rodrigo sat alone and just thought about everything that Phoebe said. Although still a bit annoyed that he was fooled twice, he nevertheless felt that his humiliation wasn't all in vain. Quite the opposite, he felt...glad that at his expense, something positive came out of it; Helga was finally coming out of her shell.

**Later that evening...**

_...Well, truth be told, he didn't see it coming, not be a long shot. I suppose I could say sorry for pulling an April Fool's prank on him, but that's a bit too un-Helga like of me._

_I gotta say, planning that counter prank on him did bring back some old memories of us, or rather, of me pulling a few pranks on you. Hehehe, remember that time when I put that jack in the box inside your locker? Oh man, did it scare the begeezes out of you! God, you can be so gullible sometimes, football head._

Helga than paused a bit to reflect on what else to write.

_I miss those times, really. Granted, they may not have been the most fondest memories for you, but to me, they are priceless. Moreover, it just showed how much we had fun, either with each other, or just life in general. When you left, I didn't think I would ever get experience that; fun, joy...happy. It seems that Latino boy is bringing me out again; my callous side. I have to confess, it feels so good to be out in the open again._

_I'm not trying to put you down, footaball head. I'm just saying that, I seem to finally be able to do what you always wanted me to find; happiness, to be myself again._

_We have a lot of great memories together, you and I. I will always cherish them, no matter who I am with, or how many years will have gone by. Rest assured Arnoldo, you will always have a special place in my life. That will never change._

_But enough about me, here is a question; do San Lorenzians have a holiday or Day similar to April Fool's Day as in the States? If they do, I feel sorry for you. You ain't going to have me to protect you from the pranks and stunts that people are probably going to be pulling on you. Buenes fuertes!_

_Your Prankster,_

_Helga G. Pataki_


	6. Chapter 6 - Matchmakers

Sid was walking down the hallway during lunchtime. He had just finished his lunch and was on his way to his locker. Despite how big the school was, it wasn't a long walk. All he had to do was turn around a corner and he would be there.

For a teen, he was an average height, but quite muscular. As part of the football team, he had used the sport to his advantage to obtain quite a physique, which he then used to his advantage with the ladies. However, he was no heart breaker. Although willing to sleep around, he wasn't willing to mess around with anyone's emotions and he made sure he stayed away from any girl who had a boyfriend. He was willing to have fun, but like Arnold, he had a heart and wasn't going to do it at anyone else's expense. If anything, he wanted the girl to also have fun. Despite the years, he still retained his old green cap, which he still wore backwards. he now wore a black leather jacket with blue jeans. Despite his long nose, many considered him cute and his reputation as someone whom a girl can have fun, if not experiment with in bed, preceded him.

Sid had now reached the corner where his locker resided and he made the turn when,

"Offf!" Exclaimed someone who just bumped into him.

"Whoa, sorry about that...Carmen?" Sid began to say when he realized to his shock that he just bumped into Carmen.

"Oh Sid, sorry about that; I didn't see you there." She said with a smile.

However Sid just stood there, completely frozen with his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. He wanted to say something, but he felt completely immobile and was at a loss of words.

"You ok?" She asked when she saw that he wasn't even moving.

"I mean, ya I am. I just umm...didn't see you there...H-H-H-How are you doing today?" Sid nervously began to say and ask, finally getting out of his love trance.

"Oh, I've been good. How about you?" She asked with a lovely smile.

"I've umm...doing out there, I mean, I've been great, really great...umm ya." Sid continued to nervously say to her. Trying to act confident, he then tried to lean against the locker, only for him to realize too late that he was too far and he instantly fell onto the floor, much to his embarrassment.

Sid immediately got up and with a confident smile, attempted to lean against the locker, this time using his hand. However, he missed and he fell again onto the floor. Carmen stood there and just watched, being rather amused at how the poor guy, known to be a ladies' man, was not looking so savvy in front of the girl he liked.

Sid then got up again and attempted to try again, but the bell then rang, signalling that class is about to start soon.

"Oh, the bell! I've gotta go Sid. It was nice talking to you. Chao." She said with a smile and went, leaving Sid still standing there, now back into a love trance.

"Bye..." He said lovingly with a big, romantic smile on his face.

_She's so pretty..._He thought.

Sid found himself quite inept to have a full-blown conversation with Carmen due to her exotic dark-brown eyes and thick, but lush black hair that ran right down her head, captivating him and letting him fall down a dark, but radiant and lively abyss.

Quickly getting himself out of his trance, he realized that he needed to get to class and hadn't yet gone to his locker to get his stuff!

_I gotta get going! I can't be late this time._ He thought as he started running to his locker to quickly get his things for his next classes. As he did so, he couldn't get Carmen out of his mind. Ever since Rodrigo first introduced him to her back at Rhonda's Halloween party, he had been infatuated with her. Yet, unlike all the other girls, he wasn't able to be himself. Quite the contrary, he tended to stumble on his words or all of a sudden become completely nervous and anxious. What was happening?!

It didn't take long for Sid to realize what it was; he liked her. Yet, it had been almost half a year and he still was nowhere near in even asking her out. He had attempted several times to talk to her, only for him to repeatedly fail, resulting in either embarrassing himself in front of her or just making things awkward.

_She must think I am a total farce._ He thought. _Well no more! I'm going to ask her out if it's the last thing I do! But how? I tried many times to talk to her, but I can't bring myself to act normally around her. I guess...I need help_. He realized. _But who?_

As he continued to quickly make his way towards his class, he continued in deep thought about who can help him. Then, just as he was about to open the door to his class,

_I know who can help me!_ He realized. _I'll ask her tomorrow for her help._

Feeling satisfied in finally having a possible solution to his problem, Side quickly made his way to his seat with a big smile on his face.

**The next day...**

Sid went to the lunchroom during lunchtime and went to their usual table spot. Upon approaching the table, he realized that he person he sought was not there. He asked his friends where she was and once he received his answer, he quickly left to go and find her.

After some minutes of walking, he finally found her, sitting next to her locker, reading a book. Wasting no time, he quickly went to go and ask her for her help.

"Hey, Helga." Sid said.

"Hey." She casually responded, not even bothering to look up and face him.

Sid realized that she was busy reading a book and for a moment, hesitated on even asking for her help, lest she'd be upset for interrupting her reading time. Nevertheless, he was determined to seek her help.

"Hey, can I speak to you about something, if you have a moment?" He asked rather nervously.

"Sure I have a moment," She said almost gladly, "after you interrupted my reading, I do now." She then retorted with a frown.

Ignoring her retorting, Sid quickly got to the point.

"Well um, you see, I like this girl, but I have been unable to speak to her properly without embarrassing myself in front of her. I'm basically asking if you can help me on giving me some pointers on how to cope with my nervousness and just act normally around her." He said nervously.

Helga instantly looked up at him with a completely surprised look. Apart from the fact that she never would have thought that anyone would ever come to her seeking any form of dating advice, she could not fathom that Sid, a well known player, would come to her asking for her help in getting a girl. It was just too good to be true.

_You've got to be kidding me?! This is either some sick joke or this is just a bunch of bull!_ She thought.

"Forget it, Sid!" She exclaimed. "I'm not going to try and help you get inside another girl's pants."

"No, no, no, you've got it all wrong!" Sid quickly attempted to correct this misunderstanding. "I don't want to sleep with her. I really like this girl. I wanna ask her out, but every time I get near her, I get really nervous and I can never get a good sentence out. I am just asking for some pointers on how to deal with that nervousness. Scouts' honor."

"Why don't you ask Rhonda for help?" Helga asked. "She is the queen of matchmaking in this dump, so I'm sure she'll be able to help you out."

"Well, I thought about asking Rhonda, but I figured you'd be more helpful on this." He confessed.

"How so?" She asked.

"Well, Rhonda may have some great advice, but she doesn't have much experience when it comes to dating." He explained. "Sure, she went on a few dates and there was that fling she had with Patrick last year, but they were never really serious. But you do, Helga. So I'd figured you would have more to advice on the matter than Rhonda. Well that, and there's another thing..." He continued nervously.

"What other thing?" She asked suspiciously. "Spit it out already!"

"Well umm, you see uh, Arnold kind of told us when you guys were dating, you would get nervous around him, making it hard for you to act normally around him."

When Sid saw that Helga was just staring at him, not making any scowling faces at him, nor trying coming at him aggressively, he cautiously continued.

"He said it was one of the reasons why you sometimes appeared to be aggressive, especially with him. He said it was your way of just trying to control your emotions and to get a grip on yourself. So I thought that, based on your experience with that, you would have some pointers for me."

Sid then closed his eyes and cringed, preparing for the inevitable yelling and fatal blows that were about to come from Helga. However, none came. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw that Helga just stood there, sitting on the floor, giving him at the very least, a suspicious look.

Helga remained motionless as she pondered as to why Arnold would ever dispel this kind of information about her to their friends. Eventually, she figured this was Arnold's way of trying to explain to them why she often seemed to be so aggressive, especially to him and it wasn't as if it wasn't true. Their friends could not really understand her why she would sometimes all of a sudden become so mean and aggressive whenever Arnold entered the scene. Indeed, it took Helga quite a while for her to eventually relax around him and to just act normally, without letting her nervousness get the best of her. Part of the reason why it took her such a while was due to the fact that she had a hard time comprehending the fact that after all of these years and with the odds stacked against her, she finally had the man of her dreams. During that fateful summer after their return from San Lorenzo, Helga had to consistently pinch herself in order to be convinced that this wasn't a dream. It wasn't. It was real; she finally had him; he finally saw something in her to not only like, but eventually...to love as well. It took her a while to finally be convinced of that.

Another reason was that this whole dating thing was completely knew to both her and Arnold. Apart from the fact that they were both really young when they started dating, none knew what to do and their friends weren't much help. They literally had to 'go with the flow' and learn by error. This in itself was already stressful, but when you add the additional weight of Helga not wanting to wreck this golden chance of being with Arnold over the long haul, well, needless to say, the first year was nerve-wrecking for her.

Although surprised that Sid knew about this piece of information about her, Helga didn't do anything about it. He already knew, so there was no point in being angry about it. Plus, even more surprisingly, unlike Stinky and especially Harold, Sid never teased Helga about her relationship with Arnold. True, he was just as surprised as anyone when he learned that Arnold's old tormentor had strong feelings for him, he accepted it and moved on. This was greatly due to the fact that Sid and Helga never really clashed when they were younger and thus, Sid had no lasting grudges against her. Unlike his male friends, he mostly just stayed out of her way and Helga did the same. All of this made Helga able to at least tolerate him knowing something personal about her.

"Fine, I'll help you." She said almost annoyingly, as she closed her book. "Who's the unlucky girl?"

"Really?! Thank you, Helga!" Sid exclaimed happily. "It's Carmen."

"Carmen? You mean Rodrigo's friend Carmen?" Helga asked surprisingly, to which Sid nodded while still having a smile on his face.

"Why didn't you go and asked Rodrigo about this first?" She asked him.

"I tried looking for him, but I couldn't find him, and he is not answering any of my text." Side explained. "Where is he, anyways?"

"I dunno. Ain't got a clue either, bob." She casually responded as she got up from the floor.

Sid just stared at her with a completely dumbfounded look on his face.

"You don't know where your boyfriend is?" He asked shockingly.

"I don't waste my time trying to know where my boyfriend is every second of every day." She said back. "He is my boyfriend, not my lapdog. I don't need to put him on a leash."

Sid just continued to look with a completely baffled looked on his face. In his mind, he could clearly see a distinction between how Helga was with Arnold and how she is with Rodrigo. With Rodrigo, Helga seemed to be almost indifferent as to where he see. When she was dating Arnold, Sid vividly remembered how they were virtually inseparable. Being with the same group of friends, neither Sid, nor any of their friends thought it strange to see Helga tag along with them. However they did notice that after the event in San Lorenzo, Helga stuck around a bit more often than usual, especially around Arnold. Helga would often trail along right beside her beloved football head, rarely leaving his side. However, everyone thought it was simply because they were dating, so it was naturally for them to want to be together.

At times, things would get a bit annoying whenever the guys wanted to have a boys' night out, only to see Helga tagging along with them. Again, this wasn't unusual, as Helga had always preferred to spend more time with the boys than with the girls. However, when they started dating, Helga had began to hang out more with the boys then previously. This made things a bit awkward. Before, they had no problem telling Helga right in her face that they didn't want girls to hang out with them. With them now dating, it became a bit difficult to say that to her, and the times when someone did tell her that they didn't want her, Arnold would often intervene on her side.

With Rodrigo, Sid had noticed that it was a bit different. Whenever they hanged out with their friends, Helga would have no problem in sometimes leaving Rodrigo on his own, allowing her to hang out and talk to Phoebe or go off somewhere on her own. Even at school, there were times when they hanged out together, becoming all lovey-dovey and such, while at other times, Rodrigo and Helga would go off somewhere doing things separately. Sid wasn't sure if this was due to them being older and more mature, or if there was something different about Helga's relationship with Rodrigo. Actually, he wasn't even sure if her relationship with Arnold was 'normal' or if it was borderline to the point of obsession. Either way, he never pried about it and he wasn't going to start now.

"Well, it's best to include Rodrigo on this. He is Carmen's friend and I'm sure he can give some pointers on how to impress her, while I give you some pointers on how to cope with your nervousness." Helga suggested, ignoring, for the time being, his staring.

"Good idea!" Sid exclaimed, getting out of his thoughts and re-focusing on why he was there. "Thanks again Helga for helping me. I really appreciate it."

"Ya, ya, don't mentioned it." She said. "I'll talk to him during our history class and ask him to meet up after school. You got a problem with that?"

"Nope, none." Sid said with a smile.

"Good. I'll see ya at my locker after school. Don't be late. If anything changes, I'll have my people call your people." She said as she busily gathered her bags and walked towards her next class.

"I won't. Thanks again Helga!" Sid said.

**At History class...**

Rodrigo walked in to find Helga already there, seemingly either waiting for him or for the class to start.

"Hey, what's up?" He said as he gave her a small little peck on her cheek.

"Hey." She said back. "You free to meet up after school?"

"I think I am, ya." He said. "Why?"

"Sid came to me asking for help about something and I agreed to help him. I need you to come along because it involves a friend of yours." She explained.

"Who? and what help does Sid need?" Rodrigo asked.

"Carmen. Apparently he 'like' likes her and he doesn't want to have a one-night stand with her. He seems to really like her and he wants to ask her out, but he gets nervous and anxious around her, so he asked me for help on how to cope with that." She continued to explain.

"Sid likes Carman?! Since when?" Rodrigo asked surprisingly.

"I dunno, he just does. So you gonna help me or not?" She asked.

"Ya, I'll help. But wait, he came and asked for your help and your agreed?" He asked still surprised.

"Yes, you got a problem with that, bucko?" She retorted.

"No no. It's just really nice of you, that's all." Rodrigo said.

"What, you think I can't help my friends out?" She continued to question him.

"No, I didn't say that! I'm just glad that you are." He nervously countered.

"Ya well, don't make a big deal out of it." She said, lowering her guard down.

_It is a big deal_. Rodrigo thought.

"Ya, sure. Where are we going to meet up?" He asked.

"By my locker. Don't be late." She said with a serious look.

"I won't. Oh, by the way," He said.

"What is it?"

"You're cute when you want to help people, you know that?" He said flirtatiously and with a smirk.

"I-I-I-, didn't I just say not to make a big deal out of this, Latino by?!" She said, trying to sound angry, although deep down, she was trying not to blush.

Rodrigo said nothing and just grabbed her hand had kissed it. Although still reeling from the flirt, the gestured managed to calm Helga down a bit, enough for her to hold his hand and even smile a bit.

"Que linda eres." (How beautiful you are ). He said to her with a smile.

"Gracias." She softly replied back.

**After school...by Helga's locker...**

Once they met up, Sid quickly filled Rodrigo and Helga in. He explained to them how he had liking Carmen ever since he saw her dance with Rodrigo back at Rhonda's Halloween party. Although he initially didn't make his move because he thought her and Rodrigo were going out, once that was not so, Sid attempted to make his move, but found that every time he got close to her, he started becoming nervous, even anxious. He explained that no matter how many times he tried to approach her in various ways, his tongued would become tied and ended up stumbling his words.

Although it was clear that Sid had strong feelings for Carmen, Rodrigo was still not entirely convinced and merely looked at his friend with a serious, skeptical, if not an also suspicious look on his face.

"Really?" Rodrigo remarked. "You like Carmen?"

"Ya I do. I just need some help in controlling this nervousness and also some tips on how to get her to like me."

"I dunno, Sid." Rodrigo said skeptically. "You're a well known one-night stander and a person who goes straight for the prize. How do I know you're not just trying to get into her pants? She's my friend, you know."

"I'm not, I swear!" Sid said. "This isn't what that is about. I really like her and I want to go out with her."

"I'm not concerned if you both do decide to have a one-night stand with each other; so long as she is aware of that AND if she wants to." Rodrigo said. "I'm concerned if whether or not you are going to toy with her emotions."

"Come on Rodrigo, you know I'm not like that." Sid protested. "Yes, I've had fun girls, but all were fully aware of what they were getting into. I tell them that I'm a player, just so they know. I even said no to a few of them whom I thought my have liked me; for fear of hurting their feelings. I'm not looking to stomp on anyone's toes; I just want to have fun and I want them to also have fun. Girls should also get to enjoy the experience. But with Carmen, it's entirely different. I really like her and I wanna ask her out. If I really wanted to just have a one-night stand with her, I would have done it already, but it's been months and I haven't even been able to get close to her without looking like an idiot."

_A bit too late for that._ Helga thought.

"Alright, fine." Rodrigo said. "What do you want to know about her?"

"Well, everything." Sid responded. "What she likes, what she doesn't like, her favour music, what is she planning on doing later in life, what's her favourite colour, is she allergic to anything..."

"Way to narrow it down." Helga said sarcastically.

"Alright. First off," Rodrigo began to say, "despite what many people may believe, Carmen is not an easy girl. The clothes that she wears, especially during the summer, and her friendly nature gives the false impression that she comes off as easy, but she's not. She's actually quite reserved and she tends to be a bit picky. She just likes to show off."

"And how would you know that?" Helga inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"When I first met Carmen back in late September, I pursued her." Rodrigo bluntly responded.

Sid glanced at Helga, curious to see how she was going to react to this information. To his surprise, other than giving him a somewhat frowning face, which Sid couldn't tell if it was her usual facial expression or due to what Rodrigo had just said, Helga didn't do anything else and just waited for Rodrigo to continue.

"As far as I was aware, she seemed to have responded to my advances."

Again, Helga said and did nothing and just continued to glance at him, but her frowning was becoming more and more profound.

"What did you say or do to get her attention?" Sid asked.

"I didn't try to impress her with fancy clothes or any extreme dancing moves. She is more down to earth than that. Plus, I'm new to this city, so it's not like I had much material accessories to use. I just showed how smart and what a nice guy I really am. In the end, I just presented myself as a different candidate and did not sort to be stereotypical."

Sid was actually rather curious to know why Rodrigo did not continue to pursue Carmen, given that she was positively responding to his advances. However, given how Helga's facial expression had evolved to scowling at Rodrigo, he decided to not ask about it. It was irrelevant anyways.

"So, your point is to not come off as any other guy?" He asked.

"Precisely." Rodrigo responded.

"Ok, that seems fair. What does she like to do? Any particular interest?" Sid asked.

"Well, she likes to dance. That is a must; she's Latina. So you gotta learn how to dance, especially Latin music. If you don't like to dance, good luck. Other hobbies are going out with her friends. She's into romantic and action movies, but also other genres. I think she also said that she does photography for the fun of it..."

"Photography?" Sid suddenly interjected, the subject catching his interests. "That's great. I'm into photography too. Not as a profession, but I have picked up the interest in the ninth grade. I can use the subject to make conversation and make her see that we have something common."

"Ya, you can." Rodrigo said. "Let's see, what else? She's not very politically conscious, but she's not ignorant about our political system. Ya, that's about it really."

"Great, thanks Rodrigo!" Sid happily exclaimed.

"Oh, there's one more thing." Rodrigo then suddenly remembered. "I'm not sure how you managed to swoop those other girls off of their feet, but one thing that Carmen despises is when a person is not being true and honest about himself. She hates posers or people that are fake. That being said, as in every situation, just be yourself Sid. Impress her, but don't go overboard with it and tell her things about yourself that aren't true. She will hate you for it and will literally walk away. You will not be given a second chance."

"Got it, thanks." Said Sid.

"You done now?" Helga asked a bit impatiently.

"Ya pretty much. You're up Helga." Rodrigo confirmed.

"Alrighty." Helga said as she cracked her fingers and stretched her arms a bit, as if getting ready for some physical work.

"Alright Sid, here's what you gotta do about that anxiety stuff of yours." She said as she got closer to him, wrapped her arm around his shoulder and got him to start walking with her. Although surprised by her sudden intake in getting physically close to someone, Rodrigo said nothing and simply walked behind them.

"First off, you gotta do away with your fantasy about Carmen, both sexually and aesthetic wise, and start looking at her like every other miserable, pathetic human being that creeps around in this lonesome little blue planet."

"Ok..." Sid said, taken aback by Helga's nihilistic tone.

"Rodrigo's right; what he said about you being true to yourself, you also have to see the reality of how she really is." She continued. "As much as you like her and as much as she may seem special to you, she is just like every other person. Ok ya sure, she has a bigger butt than most girls her height, she has a rather natural beauty that puts Rhonda's beauty to shame, and it appears that she's got some brains, but who's counting?"

When Sid said nothing, Helga continued.

"So you just need to do away with your fantasy and infatuation with her and just see her as she really is."

"How do you think I should do that?" Sid asked.

"Just deal with it directly and confront it. The best way to do that is what you've already been doing with those other girls; talk to her. You'll see that the more you know about her, the most you will realize just how human she is. You have no problem talking to other girls, so why start with this one? You need to stop putting her up on a pedestal like I did with Arnold and just focus on the reality of things." Helga responded.

"Can you give an example?" Sid asked.

Helga went silent as she thought about an example, one that would not divulge too much information about her obsession over him, but enough for Sid to understand her point.

"Well, one way is coming to grips that Carmen is a person independent from you." Helga explained. "She has her own hopes, opinions, personality, needs and wants. I might as well tell you. One of the reasons why Arnold and I used to get into arguments during our first year together was because whenever I used to fantasize about him, I had absolute no control over it. I dictated over how Arnold 'behaved', responded and attended to my needs in my fantasy. In reality, that was not the case at all and it was a huge slap in the face. I found it the hard way that in relationships, there is a lot of compromises. Arnold most often would not succumb to how I envisage he would act or behave, which obviously infuriated me. And before you get into it, Arnold also had to deal with the realities of being in a relationship. We were both naive and he too realized that it was not all peaches and cream. It wasn't easy for both of us, especially me."

"Because I was living in my own dreams during that early stage, I would put Arnold up on a pedestal, thinking that he is a very special and wonderful person, unrealistically more so than others. Naturally being in awe of someone whom we think is greater than us makes us nervous, even anxious to be around them. If you think about it, it's kind of similar if we ever meet our boss' boss, or if we end up getting sent to the principal's office. Obviously that nervousness and anxiety that I would often feel whenever I was close to him only complicated things. I felt like that I couldn't be myself and every time I was near him, I had to constantly fight with myself on just trying to act normally. Obviously that ended frustrating things because there is only so much that you can take before you'd explode. So unless I was willing to let go of my fantasies about being in a relationship with him and just focus on actually dealing with the Real Arnold, I was putting my relationship with him at risk. Once I did put my fantasies behind me, things calmed down for me. I no longer felt nervous or anxious around him. I was finally able to just be myself and not have to fight with my emotions. I actually got to enjoy being around him."

"Wow. I...I never knew how tough it was for you." Sid remarked, completely in shock. "I'm sorry you had to go through that Helga."

"Eh, it's no biggie. You live and learn." Helga said dismissively, trying her usual way of toughing it out. "But thanks. By the way, this information is strictly confidential, got it bucko?" She continued, with a now more serious tone. "If you ever tell anyone about this, especially Harold, I will feed your rotten corpse to the dogs."

"Got it Helga. I won't tell anyone." Sid said, taking her exaggerated threat seriously. Well, at least he hoped it was exaggerated.

Rodrigo meanwhile remained silent the whole time Helga talked and just admired at how open she was coming of her feelings to her friends. Rodrigo couldn't help but smile at this big moment in her life. She had come a long way from the girl he met back in September and he was very proud of her.

"You just need to keep in mind that Carmen, like Arnold, is human and they have flaws." Helga continued. "They are not perfect, as much as we would like them to be and you need to acknowledge that to yourself. But you won't be able to do that unless you break that ice wall and talk to her! Just have a normal conversation like you do with everyone else. You'll see that just conversing with her will lessen your anxiety. This won't happen in one day. If you do get a chance to go out with her, you will see for yourself that she is just human. She maybe special to you, but she is still just like every other person. It's a paradox really. But I promise that once your see this, your nervousness and anxiety will disappear."

"That makes sense," Said Sid, excited by the logic behind all of it. "Thanks Helga! This really helps."

Rodrigo could not be more happier with how things were turning out. Helga, out of her own initiative, not only gave a helping hand to a friend, but also shared some personal information about herself. Rodrigo did not have intervene, nor in any way try to convince Helga to do anything of this. It was all on her!

_Bravo, Helga. Estoy muy orgulloso de ti. (I'm so proud of you)._ Rodrigo thought happily.

However, Helga was still not done.

"Don't mention it. So instead of wasting your time fantasizing about her, you gotta get her to start fantasize about you. Let her spend her time being all infatuated about you instead of it being vis-versa."

"Huh?" Sid asked, looking confused.

_My thought exactly._ Rodrigo thought, looking equally confused.

"It's simple; you're a guy. Why are you wasting your time admiring her from afar? Take it from me; I wasted many years doing that instead of at least trying to get Arnold to like me. Instead of taking the chance, I sat by the sidelines, afraid of rejection, afraid of him saying no. Don't waste your time admiring her from afar. You gotta take your chance and hit it with everything that you've got!"

Rodrigo looked on with a bit shock. He was proud of Helga of sharing the amount of personal information that she already did, but he didn't expect her to divulge more information, much less show a lot of passion in doing so.

"That's true..." Sid said as he pondered. "But how do you expect me to do that?"

"Sid, what have we been talking about so far?" Helga stated, looking a bit agitated that Sid hadn't yet grasped it. "You make her fantasize about you by showing just how grandiose you are, doi!"

Rodrigo's smile then dropped as he started becoming worried about where Helga was going with this.

"You've done that all the time with those other girls, so you can do it with this one." Helga continued.

_Huh, excuse me?_ Rodrigo thought, looking increasingly worried.

"Well, I guess." Sid said hesitatingly.

"The only difference is that you actually like her; that's a whole new level up there. That, and as Latino boy said, Carmen won't just easily fall for you. You gotta make yourself look more grandeur than you really are, so you need to scratch what Rodrigo said about being yourself and completely redo yourself into something else."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rodrigo suddenly said, intervening into their conversation. "Helga, what do you think you are doing?' He asked, as he approached them.

"It's simply psychology, Latino boy." Helga said, undeterred. "In order to get someone to like you, you need to fit into their fantasy. Think of it as a puzzle, or blocks with certain shapes. A square block wouldn't be able to fit into a triangle shaped hole. It has to be a square. The same goes with our fantasies. You've studies psychoanalysis before, you should know what I'm talking about."

"I do know what you're talking about, but there is a big difference between making an impression and not being yourself in front of the person whom you like." Rodrigo said.

"Trust me, it's for his own good." Said Helga.

"Please explain to me how he not being himself in front of Carmen is for his own good." Said Rodrigo.

"He needs all the tools that he can muster. He's well known for being a player, so naturally Carmen will be a bit reserved about trusting someone who sleeps around, even if he hasn't left a trail of tears behind him."

"Ok." Rodrigo said unconvincingly. "And him acting as someone completely different then who he is, is suppose to help with that? Doesn't that lead to the same conclusion; he can't be trusted?"

"Eh, details, details." Helga responded dismissively, brushing aside this supposedly minor piece of information.

"What? Helga, you can't tell him to be someone different." Rodrigo protested. "Do you realize how much of a lost cause it will be for him if he does that? He can't possibly put up with that charade for long, let alone all this life. It's not fair to him or to Carmen."

"It will be a lost cause if he doesn't get his act together and show him the type of guy Carmen wants him to be." Helga calmly countered.

"You can't possibly be serious." Rodrigo said exasperatingly. "I'm not even sure why you are advising him of this. It's not like that ever worked for you; with Arnold or with me."

"Water and oil, Latino boy. My situation was different than him." Helga said. "It didn't require me to become someone who I wasn't. As I recall, both you and Arnold naturally came to your senses and liked me for what I am." She smirked.

"Well obviously because you learned that by changing yourself into someone you're not wasn't going to get the guy you liked. Do I need to remind you of that time back in the fourth grade at Rhonda's Masquerade party? Remember who you dressed up as?" Rodrigo said with his own smirk.

Sid said nothing and just looked on confusingly. Although fully remembering the particular party Rodrigo referred to, he was having a hard time remembering what Helga dressed up as. All he remembered from that party was Arnold spending A LOT of time with Lila, although it confused him even more because he distinctively remembered Lila dressed up as a gorilla and was often seen inside the house.

"Hey! I was young and naive back then." Helga snapped back. "You need to stop hanging out with Gerald so much. You've been getting away too much information about me."

"Actually, it was Phoebe who told me." Rodrigo said, trying not to laugh.

Helga just groaned and slapped her own face, annoyed at the fact that her own best friend would betray such an embarrassing piece of episode about her life to her own boyfriend.

"Let's stick to the subject here." Helga said. "My situation was different and in the end, even if I did try to change myself into something that I am not, I did get Arnold and later you. Sid's situation is different."

"How so?" Rodrigo asked.

"Look at the poor guy! Pun intended." Helga exclaimed as he pointed at him. "Do you really think Carmen is going to fall for that? He still wears the same old green hat that he wore since the fourth grade! It wouldn't have killed him to change his clothes up a bit. Not to mention that he is poor."

"What do you mean 'pun intended?! Wha...G...Helga!" Rodrigo exclaimed with extreme shock at Helga's blunt and complete lack of consideration for Sid's physical and economic situation. Although it was no secret that Sid came from a lower economic background when compared to the rest of his friends, Rodrigo was still astonished that Helga not only would bluntly state the fact, but also consider it as a sort of disadvantage on his part.

Even by this time, and despite Helga's rude comments of him, Sid still said nothing and just continued to look both his friends as they started bickering over how to best help him. He wasn't sure if he was simply amused by their bickering, or if he was just waiting for them to come to a consensus. Either way, he opted to stay out of it and wait for them to come to an agreement. After all, when it comes to Helga, you'd best not intervene.

**Thirty minutes later...**

Sid was sitting on one of the stoops that lead into the school. In order to stave off the boredom, he was busily playing a game on his phone, patiently waiting for Helga and Rodrigo, who were still arguing. By now, even the game was no longer containing his boredom and just gave a sigh as he continued to wait.

"You cannot be serious?! You are using Lacan's theory of fantasy and desire in order to support your hypocritical stance?" Rodrigo exclaimed.

"I am not being hypocritical!" Helga exclaimed back at him. "You very well know that French guy's theory on desire is centered around lack, which the person then finds in the Other; that is, in other people. Hence, your own stance about telling Sid to 'be himself' is foolhardy because to be oneself, let alone know oneself, is impossible."

"Yes, that's true, but you are essentially telling Sid to be a completely different person entirely, one where he has to succumb to the whims of Carmen's desire and fantasy. From an egoistic standpoint, you are telling him that he is not good enough. I cannot imagine what possible psychological damage that will do to him!" Rodrigo shot back.

"Are you Freudian or Lacanian?" Helga asked. "Because if you are Lacanian, then you know that the ego is nothing more than society's own implanted view of you, not the other way around. It is entirely fake."

"I am Lacanian!" Rodrigo fired back. "But that doesn't mean that other people's work like Freud or Piaget should be discarded.

"Oh gee, and you forgot little old Lev Vygotsky. Who's the hypocrite now?" Helga remarked with a smirk.

_What are they talking about?_ Sid thought confusingly. _Are they even still trying to help me or just trying to win an intellectual debate?_

Just then, something came by that caught Sid's attention. Whatever it was, it flew right in front of him, above from his phone. Curiously, he glanced above and saw that it was a bird, and not just any bird, but a blue jay!

Intrigued that such a beautiful bird would land so close to him, he quietly paused his game and exited from it. He then turned on his camera app and very slowly, got up, took a few steps towards it and started taking pictures while it hopped around on the grass looking for anything to eat.

_This is soo coool!_ Sid thought excitedly. _I've never seen a blue jay up so close and so early in the year. I wonder why it's even here._

Sid slowly crept a bit more towards the bird and continued taking pictures without trying to frighten it. Luckily for him, the blue jay either didn't seem to mind him, or simply didn't notice him and just kept on scouring the green for insects.

As Sid continued taking pictures, Carmen came out from the school after one her after school activities. Halfway down the stoop, she noticed Sid taking pictures and Helga and Rodrigo arguing. Although a bit taken aback as to why these three were still doing on school property, not to mention why Rodrigo and Helga were arguing, Carmen opted out from even interfering in their 'conversation'. She was more interested in Sid and him taking pictures of the bird anyways. Intrigued that Sid had a possible passion for photography, she smiled and crept in a bit slower to get a better look.

Not having the slightest clue as to who was behind him, Carmen peeked in on his photos and smiled at the amazing amount of photos that he was taking. It wasn't just a simply touch of a button. Sid took his time to get the perfect shot of the bird's every movement. Sid even went so far as to take pictures from a certain angle that captured a background with buildings or the sky, allowing a more colour and exquisite image.

Impressed at the quality of the pictures, Carmen crept in a bit closer to take a better look. She then wondered if she should say something and potentially disrupt Sid's concentration. As a photographer herself, she knew very well how upsetting it was for her whenever she got interrupted while in the phase of taking pictures of something, and so reframed from saying anything...for now.

However, much to her luck, the blue jay then suddenly flew away. Sid, content on having taken so many pictures, got up and then attempted to review some of them.

"Nice pictures." She finally said to him.

"Huh? What? Who?" A started Sid then instantly turned around, immediately recognizing her voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She said with a smile.

"Huh? No, no it's ok. I wasn't expecting anyone to be behind me, hehehe." He said nervously.

Sid could instantly feel his nervousness and anxiety acting up again and once again, fell silent, unable to move, let alone talk.

"How come you're still here?" Carmen asked.

"I um, *gulp*, you see, I am umm...well, the thing is..." Sid attempted in vain to answer.

Getting even more nervous, he instantly looked around, trying to find anything that would give him an idea or a topic to talk about why he was still at school. After making a few glances throughout his environment, his eyes feel upon Rodrigo and Helga who by some miracle, were still arguing and completely out of touch with their surroundings. Seeing them instantly gave Sid an idea. Now all he had to do was try to actually talk to Carmen.

He looked back towards her who said nothing as she patiently waited for him to respond, almost as if she knew what he was feeling and was giving him a chance to calm down. That didn't make Sid feel any better. He still had trouble gaining any sense of control and felt that his fantasy of her was getting the best of him. Remembering his conversation with Helga, he attempted to move away from his fantasy and just focus on her as real person.

_She is just a girl, she is just a girl, nothing more._ He thought. _She's...sooo beautiful and those eyes...I mean uh, no I mean yes, she is beautiful and has exotic eyes, but she's only a person, nothing more. She's not a god, she maybe different than other girls, but that doesn't make her into anything special that I would have to put her up on a pedestal. C'mon man, get a hold of yourself! You've talked to soo many girls, each of them uniquely different. Why should Carmen be that special that I can't even talk to her! I know that to me she is special, but in reality, she is not._

Slowly but surely, Sid managed to get an enough grip to for him to at last respond.

"I'm here because I was helping Helga and Rodrigo."

Carmen then looked at the two teens who incredibly, were still oblivious and were still arguing.

"Help them with what?" She asked, obviously confused.

"W-W-Well you see umm, they were having some issues and I wanted to help them out." He said, trying to sound genuine. "As you can see, I haven't yet quite succeeded." As he gestured to where they were.

"Well, what exactly did you do?" She asked.

"Well, umm I first asked what the problem was. Based on my conversation with them, they weren't seeing each other eye-to-eye on some things." He explained. "It um, turns out that they had different expectations about their relationship and I mean they were way up there, in fantasy land, not reality."

"That's strange." Carmen remarked. "I thought that since Helga had a previous boyfriend, she would have had experience and have more realistic expectations. As for Rodrigo, well he always seems to have a very calculating mind, so I'm surprised that he would let his imagination get the better of him."

"Well, you know how love works." He said as he nervously chuckled. "It makes people do strange things, even those who are already well acquainted with it. You know the old saying, 'you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep at night because reality is finally better than your dreams.'"

"I'm not familiar with that saying. Who said that?" She asked.

"Dr. Seuss." Sid responded nervously.

"And what about you?" She asked him with almost flirtatious smile. "Do you know anything about love?"

*gulp* "I ummm...not much. I mean, I don't think any of us really know what love is." He said nervously.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Love or when a person just 'like' likes another person, it's not something that you can simply put into words and I think that's the whole point. Love is only something that you can feel and because it can completely consume a person, it makes it really hard, if not just impossible to accurately describe it with just words. Sure we have songs and poetry, but often even that is not enough."

"And is that what you told them?" Carmen asked.

"T-To some extent yeah." He said nervously. "I tried to provide them with a more realistic perspective about love."

"It doesn't look like it worked." She said as she glanced at them. "How long have they been arguing?"

"About an forty minutes or so." Said Sid. However, quickly noticing that Carmen didn't seem too impressed with his 'help', he quickly added, "But um, I also told them that they needed to be honest with each other and I realized that they have been holding a lot of things back and not really umm, that ummm, what's the word when two people need to talk to each other?"

"Communicate?" She said.

"Yes, communicate! So I figured that whatever things they need to say to each other, it's sometimes best to just let it out."

"You seem to know a lot of about this." Carmen remarked with a slightly impressed smile on her face.

"Thanks, I try." He said. "So umm, how come you're still here?" He quickly asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm part of the photography club." She explained. "We just finished processing some photos that we took a few days ago."

"Oh, you're into photography? Me too." He quickly said.

"I know. I can tell by the way you were taking pictures of that blue jay." She said with a smile.

"Oh right, ya." He said nervously. "Are you into anything in particular that you like to take?"

"Not really, just whatever I find inspirational." She said.

During his conversation with her, Sid had noticed that his nervousness and anxiety have been decreased with each passing time that he conversed with Carmen. Realizing that Helga was indeed right, he began to show his boldness.

"Well, since you saw some of my photos, would it be alright if I can look at some of the things that you took?" He asked boldly, as fact that delighted Carmen.

"Oh sure! Here, let me show you." She said excitedly and she showed him some of her photos, at least the non private ones.

"Oh wow, these are cool!" Sid exclaimed as he swiped the photos that he saw on Carmen's phone. "How did you manage to get the perfect shade in this photo?"

"It wasn't easy. I had to wait until the sun went down a bit and even after that, I had to take pictures from several different angles. This picture is probably the 10th time I took." She explained.

Sid and Carmen spent about fifteen minutes looking at photos and critiquing the angle, shade, colouring, and lightening, with Rodrigo and Helga still arguing in the background. They didn't mind them. As far as they were concerned, they were too busy with each other. To Sid, those fifteen minutes were crucial, as he felt himself be almost normal again. With that in mind, he fully took advantage of it and demonstrated to Carmen his vast knowledge of photography, much to her awe. Despite it only being a few years since his 'discovery' of photography, Sid wasted no time in consuming all the material that he could get from either the school library or online about how to take the perfect photo. Honing in on his skill, he constantly practiced during those years, taking any kind of photo, from the sunrise, to just a trashcan swirling around with the wind. Anything that he found inspiring, which usually was a lot, he took a picture of it. All this without ever enrolling in any photography course outside of school.

"Ah, I can see why the lightening is a bit off in this photo. Look here." He said as he pointed to a particular section of the photo. "There was someone walking right behind you and his shade kind of blocked the sun. So from this angle, it doesn't seem as bright as you were trying to make it."

"Oh my god, I didn't even notice it!" Carmen said surprisingly. "I was soo busy trying to take a good photo that I didn't see anyone walk past me from behind. Ugh! No wonder this photo sucks."

"Chill out. It doesn't look that bad." Sid said. "If anything, you can still pull it off and say that this somewhat somber look was intentional. Actually, it kind of gives it a kind of noir look."

"Alright, I'm impressed. You know you're photos." She admitted with a smile. "Oh shoot! It's late, I have to get going." As she started to get her things. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Definitely." He said. "Actually, I have to get going as well. Would it be ok if I can accompany you for a walk?" He confidently asked.

"Sure, but aren't you suppose to be helping them?" Carmen asked as she gestured at Rodrigo and Helga.

"Oh they are fine." He said as he put his backpack over his shoulder. "Believe it or not, this is good for them. They need to let it all out. I was never planning on interfering. I've done all I can. Now, it's up to them. Besides, you know how Helga can be."

"Well, ok." She said with a smile, delighted that Sid was accompanying her. "So, how do you know so much about photography?" She began to ask him as they started walking.

"Back in the ninth grade. I enrolled in a photography class, thinking that it wouldn't be such a hard course. Ironically, turns out that's where I developed a passion for it..." He began to explain.

"Oh c'mon Helga!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "You can't tell me that being yourself is not radical enough!"

"It may be in some instances, but not in Sid's situation." Helga said. "This situation needs boldness and direct action. Sid cannot afford to be seen as weak and mess up!"

"What do you mean?" Rodrigo asked. "He is asking a girl out, not leading an army."

"You just don't get it, do you Latino boy?" Helga said with her arms crossed. "It is exactly like leading an army. One mistake can cost you everything. The same is when you like someone. You only have that one chance to make that crucial impression and if you mess up, you will not get another chance! Why do you think it took me so long to say anything to Arnold?"

"Because you were scared and spend more of your time being a bully to him?" He asked rhetorically.

"Fear was part of it and the bullying was a consequence of that!" She angrily retorted back. "Get your facts straight! But yes, I was scared because I didn't know how to approach Arnold and expose my most cherished secret to him without knowing that he would like me. I only had one chance to do that, lest he would reject me. It was a risk that I couldn't take. The only times I was able to tell him were when our neighourhood was at risk of being torn down and when we went to San Lorenzo to find his parents. You know the stories so I won't bother re-telling them again."

"The same goes for you, although it was a bit more complicated." She continued. "I started liking you back in October, but I wasn't willing to give up on the hope of one day getting back together with Arnold. It was only when I was finally able to let go of the past that I was finally able to see that I had a future with someone else; you, but even that wasn't enough."

"Then what drove you to tell me that you liked me?" Rodrigo asked. "How did you know that I would say yes?"

"Unlike Arnold who showed virtually no interest me, not that I blame him, you made it known to me for quite some time." She explained. "If you were trying to hide your feelings from me, it didn't work. I was able to see them through your behaviour and with the way you look at me. It wasn't difficult to see that you liked me. That's what gave me the confidence to approach you and ask you to dance with me on that day; because the evidence was clear."

"But, what if you didn't how I felt about you? What would you have done then?" Rodrigo asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." She confessed. "I definitely wouldn't have bullied you, but I don't know what or how I was going to find out if you felt the same way about me as I feel about you. It's not easy for me to show that part of me to just anyone, let alone take such a risk. There would have been that possibility where I may have...never really would have confessed my feelings for you." She continued quite sadly.

"Anyways, that's the past, I told you, you said yes, we're all good enough." She said, shrugging off the sad feeling of possibly never having confessed her feelings to Rodrigo. "That's why Sid needs to take an aggressive and bold course of action. He needs to make that first impression or else everything would come crashing down. I don't want him to get hurt."

Helga then realized that Rodrigo was no longer even paying attention to her and was looking at something past her.

"Hey! Are you listening to what I've been saying?!" She angrily asked him.

Rodrigo said nothing and just pointed at something behind her. Helga then turned around to see what got his attention all of a sudden, when she instantly saw Sid walking alongside Carmen.

"Uh, when did that happen?" She asked.

"Not a clue." Rodrigo said. "Huh. Who knew?"

"Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that we have been arguing for almost an hour for nothing?" Helga frustratingly asked.

"Ya, looks like it." He said as she shrugged his shoulders.

"Great, just great. An hour of my life wasted when I could have been home by now or at least spend a nice time with you instead of arguing." Helga said as she frowned.

"It wasn't a total loss. I think Sid put into action what you told him. I don't think he would have been able to walk with Carmen, let alone talk to her without having to talk to you first." He said.

"Pfft, I guess." Helga said as she shrugged. "C'mon, let go home." She continued.

The two teens then gathered their things and began to walk towards the bus lane.

"So, did we just have our first fight?" Rodrigo asked.

"Fight? You call that a fight?" Helga said. "That was just a warm up, bucko."

"Warm up?" Rodrigo asked in surprise. "I'd hate to see what being in a verbal fight with you would be."

"If you want to get in real fight, you'd better suit up Latino boy." She said with an almost mischievous smile.

"Actually, I'd rather not." He said. "Arguments are inevitable, but I don't want to get into any serious fights with you."

"Then just sit back and let me handle things." She said.

"Ya, I'd rather not do that either." He said.

"Well then make up your mind! You can't have both." She said.

"Why not? It's call compromise." He said.

"Ugh, that word again." Helga said annoyingly. "Fine. I guess I'll let you have some say in this relationship." She said.

"That's better. Thanks." Rodrigo said as he gave her a kiss on her cheek.

**Later that evening...**

_...Today was a great revelation, football head. Sid likes a girl, and I don't just mean sexually. I mean he actually 'like' likes this girl. She is actually a friend of Rodrigo's; Carmen. Pretty girl, I guess. Anyways, even more surprising is that Sid came to me for advice. Oh yes, you read that right, Sid came to me, not to Rhonda for dating advice. Who knew?!_

_Well, needless to say I not only accepted to help him, even more surprisingly, I opened up some things about myself that I did not want Sid to go through. I don't know what became of me or what induced me to spill out certain personal things about myself. I guess it may have been because I never really had any issues with Sid. He practically stood out of my way for most of my life. That's when it dawned on me that I...never really knew him. We've practically grown up together, but never really ever sat down and talked, let alone helped one another._

_Regardless, I have to admit that helping someone out felt, well...good. It felt nice helping someone out with something that they were ignorant about. I guess that's why I told him some personal things about me; I just didn't want him to make many of the same mistakes that I made when we were together. Truly, I regret many of things that I said or did when I was with you. My naivety and stubbornness can get in the way sometimes. I am trying not to let them get in the way this time with Rodrigo._

_Well, how are things in the jungle for you football head? Back to concocting anymore magic potion? Hope to hear from you soon._

_Your matchmaker,_

_Helga G. Pataki._

When Helga finished her letter, she then carefully placed it inside her binder that still had space for it. After closing it, she then put the binder into her closet, then went to her desk to do her homework for the rest of the evening.


	7. Chapter 7 - Mishatification

**In the morning before class...**

David was walking down the hallway, looking for someone. After walking for about a minute, he finally saw the guy he was looking for, who had just arrived at his locker and was putting his jacket and other belongings into it.

"Oye compadre, como estas hoy?" (Hey comrade, how's it going today?) David said to Rodrigo.

"¡David! Que tal ese? Como va todo?" (David! what's up? How's is going?) Rodrigo responded.

Rodrigo and David were not related, but were often mistaken to be related, given their physical similarities. They were both roughly the same height, had thick black hair and the same brown skin tone. Their facial appearance were also similar. Other than that, that was mostly it.

"Bien, bien ¿Escuche, me puedes hacer una favor?" (Good, good. Listen, can you do me a favour?" David asked him.

"Depende ¿Que necesitas?" (Depends. What do you need?) Rodrigo asked him as he was getting his books out for the morning classes.

"¿Pues, me puedes prestar tu sombrero de fieltro?" (Can I borrow your fedora hat?) David asked.

"¿Por que lo necesitas?" (Why do you need it?) Rodrigo asked.

David looked around to ensure that no one they knew was around.

"Mira, hay una chica que lo quiero impresionar. Tengo un idea en como yo puedo lograr, pero necesito tu sombrero." (Look, there is a girl that I want to impress. I have an idea on how to do that, but I need your hat.) David explained while whispering.

"Awww pero David, no eres tan feo, hahaha" (Aww but David, you're not that ugly, hahahha) Rodrigo joked.

David gave him a slight punch on Rodrigo's shoulder for that remark and frowned at him.

"Ok,ok, ok." Rodrigo remarked, getting serious again. "¿Y como mi sombrero te puede ayudar en arar esta chica?" (Ok, ok ok. And how can my hat help you in getting this girl?) .

"Pues, si te puedo decir honestamente, Helga me inspiro." (Well, if I can honestly tell you, Helga inspired me.) David confessed, albeit a bit shyly.

"¿Como?" (How?) Rodrigo asked.

"Cuando ella fue al primero piso a bailar contigo en marzo. La manera como ella te sorprendió, con la confianza que ella tenía en que tu ibas a decir si; pues me gusto y yo quiero replicar ese senario, obvio en mi forma." (When she went to the first floor to dance with you in March. The way she surprised you, along with her confidence that she had that you were going to say yes; well, I liked that and I want to replicate that scenario, in my own way of course.) David explained.

Rodrigo just stood there as he admired at how Helga was already positively inspiring other people to do something nice for others. It was a very small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough for Rodrigo appreciate the fact that Helga was slowly drifting away from her former position as an angry, violent teen that many view her.

"Ok David, me convenciste. Aquí está mi sombrero." (Ok David, you convinced me. Here is my hat.) Rodrigo said as he gave him his famous black fedora hat.

"¡Gracias Rodrigo, lo aprecio!" (Thank you Rodrigo, I appreciate it!) David happily exclaimed.

"Segura que tu retornas mi sombrero cuando la escuela termina hoy. No mañana, ni la próxima semana; hoy ¿Comprendes?" (Just make sure you return my hat by the end of today. Not tomorrow, no next week; today. Understand?) Rodrigo said with a stern voice.

"Si, si, lo entiendo. Gracias otra vez, Rodrigo." (Yes, I understand. Thanks again, Rodrigo.) David said happily and he shook Rodrigo's hand.

"Bueno David, te tengo que dejar. Voy a encontrarme con Helga antes cuando suena la campana." (Well David, I have to leave you. I'm going to meet up with Helga before the bell rings.) Rodrigo said.

"Ok. Nos vemos." (Ok. I'll see you later) David said. And with that, the two teens went their separate ways.

Rodrigo had to walk fast in order to get to Helga's locker, whom he knew was probably already waiting and did not want to irritate her.

_Hmm, ever since we've started dating, I feel I've been taking great step in trying to do anything to not irritate or upset her. I could say 'I wonder why', but I already the reason; her temper._ He thought. _I feel like at any moment, I could set Helga off about something, or anything. I can't really seem to just relax around her. I feel I have to always keep my guard up. I just hope I won't have to do this forever._

Sure enough, he made it to Helga's locker, who was already there waiting for him...and clearly looking annoyed.

"Finally you showed up." She retorted with a frown on her face.

"Sorry Helga, I was talking to a friend." He said as he gave her a kiss on her lips.

"Better have been an important conversation. You got some nerves to leave a girl hanging like that." She said as she grabbed her things and started walking, almost leaving Rodrigo behind.

"I didn't leave you hanging. You were only waiting for a minute, sheesh." He said back.

"Don't sheesh me!" She snapped back. "I'm not the one who showed up late."

"It was only for a minute!" Rodrigo said with a raised and annoyed voice. "Don't make a big deal out of everything!"

"You'd better watch that tone of yours or else I'll adjust for you." She retorted back, clearly losing her patience by this point.

"Oh, I would love to see you try." Rodrigo mockingly challenged her.

Helga gave serious scowl at his challenge. Her hands closed and were forming into fists. But then she relented.

"Whatever." She said back.

Rodrigo just gave a frustrated sigh.

_This is exactly what I mean! Just about anything can annoy her. I'm probably lucky that she didn't explode just now._ He thought.

Rodrigo said nothing and wondered what he can do to help her stave off her anger. Just then, he an idea popped up into his mind.

"You know, you need to relax a bit. You're always so stiff." He said.

"I'm not stiff! And for your information bucko, I am relaxed!" Helga exclaimed.

"Really, so you wouldn't mind putting your money where your mouth is?" Rodrigo calmly asked. "How about we meet up down at the first floor during lunch?"

"To do what?" Helga asked.

"Bailer. You were really good at it last time." Rodrigo said with a smirk.

"That was to just get your attention and tell everyone that you are mine now." She replied.

"I like your confidence. So then you wouldn't mind demonstrating that same tenacity later today. Unless of course if you are...scared." He said with a smirk.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" She said as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You heard me." He said.

Helga then starting chuckling a bit. She stopped walking, gently but firmly grabbed Rodrigo by his black hoody sweater, and then pulled him a bit closer to her.

"Alright bucko, if that's the way you want it, then let's dance!" She said. "Hopefully this will make you prioritize people, aka moi."

_Finally; a way use her temper positively._ He thought.

"Great! I'll meet you there at lunch." He said.

"Don't be late this time." She firmly said to him.

"I won't. I promise." He said. "Now, can you let me go please?"

"Or else what?" She taunted him with an almost mischievous smile.

"Or else I'll..." Rodrigo said softly before he leaned him and gave her a kiss on her lips.

Helga leaned in as well and even wrapped her arms around Rodrigo's neck, allowing herself to be vulnerable with him for a little while. Actually, that little while turned out to be a bit longer than that.

*rrriinnnngggg*

"Ugh, crimeny." Helga groaned as she let go of Rodrigo.

"Ya, crimeny." Rodrigo said. "No worries, we'll continue this later." He continued, as he planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Good, we'd better because I was just getting started." She said flirtatiously.

The couple then wasted no more time and headed towards their first class for the day.

**At lunchtime...**

True to his word, David wasted no time in using all of his skills to impress the girl whom he liked; Tamina. A beautiful mixed girl, with thick afro-curly hair, who was a bit shorter than he. Both have been eyeing each other for some time and although there was a strong indication that they liked each other, none have ever made a move.

David was rather shy when it came to girls, and although he didn't have much of a problem with talking to one, he found that he sometimes became somewhat quiet around them. With Tamina, it took that shyness to a whole other level and David found himself becoming very nervous around her. He realized that any hopes of him verbally making his feelings known to her was no longer an option. However, when he saw how Helga all of a sudden appeared before Rodrigo and asked him to a dance as her way of telling him that she liked him, it truly impressed him. The way she danced around him, the way she was looking at him and smiling throughout, it was a clear indication to him and to everyone watching that Helga was making a statement; she liked Rodrigo and was inviting him to take their relationship to the next level. He wasn't joking about that. Moreover, it gave him an alternative route to demonstrate to Tamina his feelings towards her without outright saying them.

As soon as lunch started, he immediately went about setting his plan into motion. He had previously texted Tamina to meet him on the first floor as soon as lunch started. He grabbed his friend's radio box, Rodrigo's fedora hat, ran downstairs, set up everything and waited for her to arrive. He didn't have to wait long.

Once she arrived, David gathered whatever strength he had and said that he wanted to have a dance with her. Although surprised by this, she nevertheless gladly accepted. Happy with her acceptance, David started playing the music.

David picked the song carefully. It was Stanaj's bachata song, Romantic, remix. David gently grabbed her hand and pulled her to the middle of the hallway. With both of them smiling, they started dancing.

_Yeah  
You say I make you shy  
I don't know why  
Every time we kiss  
It gets better every time  
Underneath the light  
You're shining so bright  
The tension in the air  
You could cut it with a knife  
See, I'm just tryna be somebody  
You got me in love so deep  
No, I don't got to do these things  
But you make me_

_You make me wanna be romantic  
You make me wanna be a star  
You make me wanna act different  
I love you for who you are  
You make me want to run circles around you  
So glad that I found you  
You make me wanna be romantic  
You make me wanna be a star_

David performed only some savvy or fancy moves. He didn't want to distract Tamina. Rather, he focused on them being close to each other, dancing nice and steady with her, allowing her to listen to the lyrics in the hopes of her getting the message. She got it.

_You make me wanna be romantic  
You make me wanna be a star_

_You make me wanna be romantic  
You make me wanna be a star_

_You make me wanna be different  
I love you for who you are  
You make me wanna do circles around you  
So glad I found you  
I just wanna be romantic  
I just wanna be a star_

With each passing time, Tamina grew more confident and got a bit more closer to David. Slowly, but surely, they faces were within millimeters of each other, but that's as far as Tamina went. She made her move, now it was David's turn. Yet, David was hesitating. Getting his nervousness the better of him, he reframed from taking that one, but final step to seal it. His heart was pound so much he felt he was going to have a heart attack. Just then, as the song was about to end, David gathered any remaining strength and made his move. He leaned in and kissed her. Much to his delight, Tamina reciprocated and leaned as well. The two were locked in each other's full embrace and instantly moved any distracting thoughts from their minds. It was now just them, alone, in full blissful union.

Just as David was about to kiss Tamina, Helga was around the corner, walking towards Rodrigo and his friends' usual dancing spot. Although she was initially flustered on having to dance in front of a crowd for no good reason other than to 'have fun', she began to like the idea as time went on during that morning.

_I guess it will be kind of fun._ She shrugged in thought. _At least I'll get to show off to Rodrigo's loser friends and enlighten them on how to actually dance. Some of those geek baits have two left feet, or even dance to the rhythm. Pitiful._

As she approached the end of the hallway, she made her usual turn, but just as she did so, she stopped dead on her tracks at the first thing she saw. It took her a about a second to fully comprehend what was unfolding before her eyes, but as she realized it, she instantly stopped breathing, her eyes widen considerably and her jaw hanged open.

_R-R-Rodrigo?_ She thought with utter shock.

David was facing the other side of the hallway, so he had his back to the other hallway from where Helga was coming from. When she turned the corner, she only saw his back, but thought that it would be no other person than Rodrigo. He had the same black hoody sweater, the same blue jeans, the same type of thick, somewhat long black hair and his black fedora hat! No one else in the school wore that type of hat!

After about three seconds, she let out a small gasp and started to breathe again, albeit heavily this time. Yet, she couldn't move. Her entire body felt numb and unable to register. What seemed like an eternity as she stared at a crack of her world completely falling apart, only a few more seconds passed before she finally managed to get a grip of her body, which allowed her to let out a small whimper.

Unable to approach them due to the amount of shock and in a rare case, not knowing what to do, she quickly dashed and hid behind the corner and attempted to her control her breathing. For some reason, she felt compelled to peak in, but as she did so, it only confirmed what she already saw; Rodrigo was kissing another girl!

Helga's face gave way to utter despair and confusion. There was so many things coming into mind that she had a hard time controlling her own thoughts. At the same time, she was starting to feel a sort of pain on her chest. It wasn't just her heart beating fast, it was also starting to break. Feeling utterly devastated, Helga tried desperately to control herself, but she was unable to prevent some tears from coming out and falling down her cheeks. Indeed, the whole experience was so nerve wrecking that Helga gagged a bit, feeling that she needed to throw up. Thankfully, she didn't.

Feeling completely betrayed, hurt, humiliated and angry, she ran out from the first floor and quickly climbed up the stairs.

Meanwhile just as Helga ran out, Rodrigo entered the first floor on the other side of the hallway, a door that was much closer to where he and his friends usually hang out. Upon seeing that Helga was not there, he sent a quick text message, asking her if she was one her way. He then saw David and Tamina on the other end of the hallway, still kissing and embracing each other. Feeling happy for his friend, he then turned around to speak with his other friends were who already there waiting.

"Oye Javier, ¿vistes a Helga?" (Hey Javier, Have you seen Helga?) Rodrigo asked.

"No, todavia no." (No, not yet.) He responded back.

"¿Por lo menos, vistes el evento que ocurrió en frente de ti?" (Did you at least you watch the event that unfolded right in front of you?) Rodrigo asked as he pointed at David and Tamina.

"Oh si. Fue bueno. Me alegro por ellos." (Oh ya. It went well. I'm happy for them.) Javier responded.

"Yo tambian." (Me too) Rodrigo said.

"Bueno, a que empezar" (Well, let's get started) Javier said.

"¿Cómo? No tengo no quien bailar." (How? I have no one to dance with.) Rodrigo said.

"Ah no te preocupes holms. Helga vendrá pronto. Además, eso nunca te prevenido." (Ah, don't worry about it homie. Helga will come soon. Besides, that has never stopped you.)

"Yo hurry up! We wanna dannce before the bell rings!" One of their friends complained.

"Ok, ok." Rodrigo said hesitatingly, but he couldn't help but wonder why it was taking Helga so long to come down and meet him here. It's not like her to stand him up like that and even if she needed to, she would have messaged him to let him know. Nevertheless, Rodrigo proceeded to get ready to start dancing.

Meanwhile, Helga ran off as fast as she could and away from the scene that she just uncovered. With so many things rushing into her head, she was unable to process them. She needed a quiet place to go to where she can be alone...and talk to someone.

As she continued running, with tears falling down her cheeks, she frantically grabbed her cell and attempted to dial a number. After a few rings...

"Hi Helga." Phoebe answered the phone.

"Ph-Phoebe!" Helga attempted to say while breathing heavily. "I need to talk to you. It's an emergency. "

"Is everything alright?" Phoebe asked with a concerned.

"No, everything is not alright!" Helga said as she fought back to let any more tears from streaming down her cheeks. "I really need to talk to you. Can we meet up, please?"

"Yes Helga. Where are you?" Phoebe asked.

Helga entered the stairwell and was about to go to upstairs when she noticed that underneath the stairs was a big space where she can easily hide and gather her thoughts. Thinking that it was secluded enough,

"I'm on first place, the stairwell on the west side. Meet me there." Helga said.

"I'm on my way." Phoebe said and then hanged up.

"Is Helga ok?" Gerald asked who was with her.

"I'm not sure." Phoebe said worryingly. "She sounded very upset and asked to meet up with me right away. I have to go and see her Gerald, and make sure she is ok."

"No worries, babe. You go and do what you need to do." Gerald said with a smile.

Phoebe smiled at him. Despite their animosities towards each other throughout the years, Gerald never attempted to come between his girlfriend and her best friend. If anything, he did the opposite, by always supporting Phoebe to help Helga out whenever she needed it.

"Thanks Gerald." Phoebe said

After giving him a goodbye kiss, Phoebe quickly gathered all of her things and made a dash for their rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, Helga cramped underneath the stairwells, put her bag down, sat down and finally began to process what she just witnessed.

Even now, she still couldn't believe what she just saw. She just wasn't able to comprehend it, yet she continually recurred it in her mind, bringing her nothing but insurmountable pain and more tears. As much as she wasn't willing to admit, she couldn't run away from what she saw.

_How could he do this to me?!_ Helga thought with more despair. _I thought he liked me..._ Helga just huddled underneath the stairs, trying to relief herself from the growing pain that she was experiencing.

_How could I have been so stupid?! _She continued to think_._

Just then, her cell vibrated. Despite being in no mood to answer it, she picked it up and saw that it was Rodrigo. Her anger quickly rose at the mere sight of his name. She wanted to call him and yell and threaten him for ever trying to do something so despicable behind her back. Yet instead, she opted to just text him back.

**Helga: Can't make it. Something came up.**

With that, she put her phone away and went back to her thoughts. However, she didn't have much time to dwell into them before she heard a voice.

"Helga? Where are you?" Phoebe asked as she looked around to find her.

"Under the stairs Pheebs." She sadly called out.

"Helga, what happened? Why are you so upset?" Phoebe worryingly asked when she looked down to see her best friend huddled underneath the stairs, looking visibly hurt and upset.

"I-I-It's Rodrigo." She hysterically began to explain, while trying not to fall to pieces. "I saw him, Pheebs. I saw him."

"Saw him do what?" She asked.

"I saw him k-k-k-kiss another girl!" Helga cried.

Phoebe initially said nothing as her eyes went eyed from the shocking news.

"He cheated on me! After everything we went through, he cheated on me!" She continued to exclaim as more tears streamed down her cheek."

"Cheat on you? But how? Why?" Phoebe frantically began to interrogate her, but then quickly calmed herself down. She wasn't doing Helga any favours by acting hysterical as well. Getting a grip, she then said,

"Helga, just start from the beginning and tell me what happened." Phoebe calmly said to her.

Helga calmed down a bit to fully explain to her best friend what had just transpired.

"Rodrigo invited me to come dance with him at lunch today. I was supposed to meet him the second lunch started. I was walking down that hallway and when I turned the corner, I saw him kissing another girl, right in front of me!"

Phoebe said nothing and went into shock mode at the news. Indeed, it was completely out of the ordinary for Rodrigo to do something like this. Not that he wasn't capable of cheating, but Phoebe couldn't understand why he resorted into doing this. As much as she believed Helga's story, something just wasn't adding up.

"Helga, are you sure?" She cautiously asked her.

"Of course I'm sure!" Helga angrily snapped back. "I was only a few inches away from them making out!" causing Phoebe lean a bit back by her sudden aggression.

Unbeknownst to Phoebe, Helga, in her devastated and infuriating state, neglected to tell her best friend one crucial piece of information; she never saw his face. Based on the clothes, the physical height and body shape and the black fedora hat, she concluded that it must have been Rodrigo and now Helga seemed hell bent on that conclusion.

Despite feeling angry at how this affair ended up hurting her best friend, Phoebe put aside her emotions and attempted to rationalize this all out. Considering how devastated and emotional Helga was, she needed to be the rational person right now.

_This just doesn't make any sense._ Phoebe thought. _Why would Rodrigo do something like this? Granted, we've only known him for less than a year, but he has never shown us to ever be cruel or diabolical. Quite the contrary, he has demonstrated to be a kind and caring person Even if he wanted to do something like this, what possibly reason would have conduced him to do this? There have been no infighting or serious arguments between them and based on what Helga has told me, everything seems to be going very well in the relationship. There has to be more to this story._

Helga meanwhile, was doing the exact opposite. Although she had been feeling angry since the beginning, it initially paled in comparison to all the overall feelings that she was simultaneously experiencing. Yet, with each passing time, her anger was accumulating until it now surpassed everything else. By this stage, she was now bent on revenge!

Phoebe than noticed her bed friend suddenly standing up and when she glanced at her, she saw with a bit of fright the serious scowling glance was she giving off. Phoebe then instantly realized that Helga was about to do something violent.

"When I get my hands on that traitorous scumbag, I'm going to rip him to little pieces!" She angrily shouted and started to walk out of their hiding spot.

"Helga wait!" Phoebe immediately said and moved right in her path, blocking her and thereby preventing her from doing anything rash.

"I know you are upset and you have every right to be, but you need to calm down a bit." She said. Poor choice of words.

"Calm down?! You want me to calm down after what I just witnessed?!" Helga angrily yelled at her. "Whose side are you on, Pheebs! Why would you ever try to defend Rodrigo's actions?!" But Helga didn't give Phoebe a chance to respond and simply attempted to get around her.

"Helga, I am your best friend and that is why I am preventing you from going out there!" Phoebe exclaimed as she attempted to push Helga back into their hiding spot. "I just don't want you to do something that you might later regret."

"Oh, don't worry Pheebs. I'm not going to kill him." Helga said. "I'm just going to cut off his manhood!"

"Helga wait! This just doesn't make any sense!" Phoebe yelled and used all of her strength to push Helga back into her hiding spot, which prompted to her to finally pay attention to her.

"We need to think about this. I mean, it just doesn't seem like Rodrigo to do something like this after everything you guys have gone through, let alone the sacrifices that you made." She said.

"There's a simple explanation to this, Pheebs." Helga countered. "He's tired of being with me and putting up with my antics and decided to just run off to the prettiest girl that he could find." She continued, although with a sad and hurtful tone in her voice.

"I don't believe that, Helga." Phoebe said firmly. "Rodrigo cares about you. I've seen the way he looks at you, how he lovingly holds your hands and kisses you and how he smiles whenever he sees you. He is happy to be with you. You cannot fake that."

"Then he must be a very good actor." Helga said.

"Helga!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Fine." Helga said as she threw her arms up in the air. "What is your big 'theory' on Rodrigo's behaviour?" She asked as she sat back down and waited for Phoebe to explain.

"Well, it's not really a theory. It's more of a hypothesis." She began. "I'm not trying to defend him, Helga. I just don't see any reason why he would all of a sudden go out of his way to hurt you like this. Since we've met him, Rodrigo has never acted nefarious, cruel or just plain mean with anybody. Even with people outside of our group, he has acted as the same, polite, friendly and caring person.

"It's just a cover up." Helga said.

"I'm not so sure." Phoebe said. "Rodrigo spent almost this entire school year trying to get everyone to reconcile with you, especially between you and Gerald. During that time you guys had your ups and downs and yet he was still willing to help you and everyone. Why would he go through all the trouble, only to sabotage it now? If he wanted to do it, he could have done it at any point in time before you guys got together."

"He wanted to get me where it would hurt the most; preventing me from getting back together with Arnold. Rodrigo is one of the few people who knows how deeply Arnold plays in my life and how much I wanted him back." Helga said. The thought of Rodrigo doing something like that, to play with her emotions and getting her to go out with him instead of Arnold, was severely tearing her apart.

"He...He knows how much Arnold means to me." Helga continued with a hurtful tone in her voice and attempted to fight back tears. "He knows full well how much of a sacrifice this was for me. I have been waiting for almost three years for Arnold to come back. He confessed that missed me and wanted to get back together with me. He even offered to go to San Lorenzo with him. And yet despite it all, I still said no! I still...I still chose to be with Rodrigo because he was actually there for me! He chose me over everyone else, while Arnold did not!" She continued, but was now cracking and having trouble speaking.

"And now..." Helga continued as she wiped a tear from her eye. "It's all gone down the drain. I am alone again."

"But Helga, it just doesn't make any sense." Phoebe protested. "I know he was upset with you a few times when you two first met and granted, I wouldn't not have been surprised if he wanted to get back at you, but this is just overkill! This far exceeds anything that you put him through. I'm not saying that Rodrigo is not capable of seeking revenge. I'm just saying that if he wanted to get back at you, I really don't think he would have gone through all of that length to help you, only to 'pull the carpet from under your feet', as the saying goes. That is just sadistic and I have my doubts that Rodrigo does not have any empathy for people."

Helga took a while to ponder about what Phoebe and realized that her best friend did have some good points. This all seemed very sketchy and for the first time, Helga began to have her doubts about what she actually saw.

_Did I perhaps miss something?_ Helga thought. _Was Rodrigo probably just rehearsing for a play that he enrolled and he hadn't yet told me, or maybe that broad blackmailed him into kissing her? Am I even sure that that was Rodrigo at all?_

_No! It was Rodrigo. Only he wears that black fedora hat and he's so attached to it that he doesn't lend it to anyone. Of that, I am sure. But, perhaps something else must have occurred that I didn't see?_

Despite her doubts, Helga couldn't help herself but still feel betrayed and hurt. However, she now managed to calm herself down a bit to at least start thinking this a bit rationally.

"So what do you think I should do?" Helga asked.

"Well, I believe the only logical course of action would be to confront Rodrigo about it." Phoebe suggested.

"Are you kidding me?! That's a dumb idea, Pheebs!" Helga exclaimed. "What possible excuse could he come up that would justify him cheating on me?"

"I'm not sure, that's why you need to talk to him about it." Phoebe said. "I don't see any other alternative. It's obvious that you are not going to let this pass, but at the same time this whole scenario seems a bit sketchy, which does not allow you to come up with a decisive decision. That is why I suggested to confront him and talk about it. Based on his answer, you can then decide to either stay with him or..." Phoebe continued but prevented herself him finishing her sentence.

"Leave him." Helga finished it for her.

"Yes." Phoebe said shyly but somberly.

Although not liking the idea, Helga really didn't have any choice. At the very least, she would be giving him the opportunity to confess about it and provide her with whatever excuse he may have that he felt compelled to cheat on her. However, she was not going to yet decide on doing that.

"Let me think about it, Pheebs." Helga said. "I'll see what other ideas I may come up with. You know, other than killing him."

"Ok Helga." Phoebe said. "Helga, I just wanted to let you know that, I support with whatever decision you will make about Rodrigo. You know I will always be there for you." Phoebe then extended her hand.

"Thanks, Pheebs." Helga said, finally smiling a bit amidst all of this depressing tale and held Phoebe's hand.

"Are you going to your history class?" Phoebe asked her.

"No. I can't bear to see Rodrigo right now." Helga said. "I'll go to the library and hide there for the time being and think about all of this."

"Ok." Phoebe said.

**Before the start of third period class...**

Helga walked into the library, went to the farthest corner of the room that she could find and sat down to think. She was barely sitting for thirty seconds when her cell vibrated. Upon opening it, she saw that she got a text message from Rodrigo.

**Rodrigo: Hey, where are you? Class is about to start.**

Frowning at the mere sight of his name, she decided not to say anything back to him and simply put her phone away. She grabbed one of her textbooks and 'tried' to do some of her homework, but in reality, she was too deeply disturbed and hurt.

_Phoebe's right, none of this makes any sense. _She thought. _ What did I do to make him do something like this to me? I thought everything was going well between us. Did it have something to do over that stupid little argument we had this morning? That couldn't have been it. It couldn't have been about Arnold. I thought I made it clear to that kid that I chose him over football head. I got rid of my pink bow, I even said no to Arnold's proposal to get back together! And it's not like I have been talking, or even mentioning him. No, it could not have been that. So what is it?!_

Frustrated, Helga slammed her fist against the desk hard enough to make a loud banging sound. That prompted the librarian to say, 'sshhhh'.

Ignoring the librarian, Helga continued to think deeply about this, but it wasn't doing her any good. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated and angry she got. At one point, she resorted to going back to her original theory about Rodrigo; that he was out for revenge and that he never cared for her.

_Of course he did this with malicious intentions!_ She now thought. _It's been more than a month and things have been a paradise between us than how things were when I was with Arnold. I've not given him any justifiable reasons for him to do this, so it is obvious that he is doing this because he is nothing but a heartless, sadistic douche bag!_

Helga then felt a surge of anger coming within and she was finding it difficult to control. Grinding her teeth with a fury, she again slammed her fists hard on the desk, prompting the librarian to look at her and with a frown, shhhed her again. Again, Helga ignored her and just continued to grow angrier.

_Doesn't he know how much I sacrificed for him, for us?!_ She thought. _Doesn't he know how much it cost me to say 'no' to the one person whom I wanted to be with since I was three?! Of course he does! Then why did he do this? Why did he betray me?! Arnold never would have done something like this to me._

Just then, a thought occurred.

_Arnold..._

No, she wasn't going through a love trance about him. Rather, she recalled the times when she was in similar situations with Arnold and the anger and jealous that she would often feel. The only major difference was that in those cases, every time she suspected Arnold eyeing another girl or vise-versa, they were completely benign and unfounded. Yet, that did not prevent her from allowing her jealous and rage to get the best of her.

She particularly recalled a time when one girl at PS 118 was eyeing Arnold. Helga initially restrained her jealousy and did not allow it to dominate her, especially since Arnold was not reciprocating to any of that girl's advances, why should she bother? At one point, it felt as if Helga was on the verge of finally being able to control her jealousy and she felt a bit proud. Unfortunately, that same girl approached Arnold one day and asked to privately speak with him. Never wanting to push someone away who needed help, Arnold accepted and went somewhere quiet where they could talk. When Helga noticed that Arnold was missing, she went looking for him. When she found out that he was speaking with that girl who liked him, she crept in closer to listen in on their conversation. Unfortunately, she stalked them right at a time where she completely mistook it as if Arnold was acknowledging his feelings for the girl. Becoming completely furious as his supposed unfaithfulness, she immediately interrupted their conversation and started yelling at Arnold, even going so far as to grab his shirt and was within inches of pummeling him. Arnold and the girl frantically attempted to explain to Helga that it had all been a misunderstanding. It turned out that although the girl did like Arnold, she approached him on that day not because she wanted to steal him away from Helga, but because she had a personal issue and she wanted some advice from the person who was renowned for that. Arnold, in one of the few occasions, became angry at Helga for not only behaving this way, but also that she did not trust him. Arnold by this point was becoming very exasperated with her constant jealousy and warned her that should she continue like this, her fear of him ever leaving her for another girl may come true; a self-fulfilling prophecy. Helga, upon realizing her mistake and finally realizing that her own actions may one day contribute to Arnold actually leaving her, let him go and vehemently apologized to them both.

Although they eventually reconciled, the memory of that fateful continued to haunt Helga. Arnold had never been an angry person, nor has he ever threatened anyone. But on that day, his patience finally ran out and although he didn't verbally attack Helga, his warning was also a type of threat that shook Helga deeply. She did not want a repeat of that same event again.

_But it's not the same!_ She frustratingly thought to herself. _I saw him kissing him another girl, didn't I? I have every reason to be furious at him!_

Yet, as much as she wanted get back at him, she didn't trust herself to go through with it. What if she was wrong? What if it was all a misunderstanding? How many times had she allowed her jealousy and anger get the better of her, only for it to blow up in her face? Too many to count. She wanted to be a different, if not a better person. She wanted things to be different, if not better, with Rodrigo.

Finally, tired on having to repeatedly go through the same line of reasoning over and over again, Helga finally relented to Phoebe's advice and decided to talk to Rodrigo about his unfaithfulness. At the very least let him give her an explanation, even if it was probably going to be a crappy one.

Just then her cell vibrated again, releasing her from her thoughts. She again picked up to see who text messaged her. It was Rodrigo again.

**Rodrigo: Why did you skip class? Is everything ok? Please call me or text me.**

**Helga: Sorry. Ya, I'm ok. Just trying to catch up on some homework. Didn't want to do them at home. We need to talk though.**

**Rodrigo: Ok.**

**Helga: After school ends.**

Helga then put her phone away and attempted to actually do some of her homework for the duration of the third period.

**School ends...**

Helga wasted no time as she headed straight for Rodrigo's locker. She didn't even bother stopping by her own locker. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, although she couldn't help but feel completely nerve-wrecked by all of this. She was so nervous that she was tightly holding on to her book that was wrapped around in her arms. Good thing it was thick, otherwise she would have probably ripped it apart.

She really had no idea how she was going to react if Rodrigo told her the truth. Would she just break up with him there and leave it be? Would she pummel him and take his manhood away?

_I'll probably take his manhood away._ She thought.

Eventually, she made it to Rodrigo's locker and found him there.

_Good, he's alone._ She thought.

After taking a deep breath, she approached him.

"Hey." She said.

Rodrigo turned to face her and immediately realized that something was wrong. Although initially content with her previous explanation, her face told a different story. She looked highly stressed out and seemed to have been crying.

"Helga, are you ok? What happened?" Rodrigo asked worryingly as he leaned in to give her a kiss.

Helga was initially going to back away and prevent him from kissing her, but at the last moment, she allowed him to. This maybe the last kiss she would ever receive from him.

"Ya, I am." She softly said.

"Ok." He said, unconvinced, but didn't want to argue with her. "So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Helga bit her lip a bit and took another breath as she prepared for inevitable judgment.

"I umm, I came downstairs during lunchtime to find you." She began.

"Oh, you did? I never saw you there." He said. "Where did you go?"

"You didn't see me, but I saw you." She said. "I saw you k..."

"¡Oye, Rodrigo!" David then suddenly came and interrupted their conversation. "Here, as promised." As he handed to him his much cherished black fedora heat.

"Thanks David." Rodrigo said as he put on his hat.

"Thanks again for lending me your hat during lunchtime. It worked like a charm." David said.

"Huh? What worked like a charm and why does David have your hat?" Helga interjected, clearly confused.

"David came to me this morning and asked me if I can lend him my hat during lunchtime. He wanted to impress this girl and dance with her and he wanted to have a swavy kind of look." Rodrigo explained. "That's why I was a bit late that morning."

"You lend him your hat?" Helga said with an almost disbelief tone in her voice.

"Oh ya and it worked!" David said happily. "We were dancing really close together and she was loving it. We got closer and closer until I finally made my move and kissed her."

It was at this point that Helga then scanned David and realized to her shock that he was wearing almost the same type of clothes that Rodrigo was wearing. The only major difference was the black hoody sweater. Rodrigo's was completely black with no designs on it. David on the other hand, had the brand's logo on it, but it was at the front, skewed from Helga's eyes when she saw them.

"Where did you dance?" Helga then asked, with an almost demanding voice.

"On the first floor, right next to the corridor between the two hallways." David explained.

"And you were wearing Rodrigo's hat during that time?" Helga asked for clarification.

"Yup." David said.

"I arrived later, so I didn't see the dance, but I saw the aftermath." Rodrigo interjected. "You guys were completely lost in your little world because neither of you took her hands off of each other. You were kissing each other for quite some time."

"I can't help it ese if I like her." David said with a chuckle. "By the way, Helga. I wanted to thank you for inspiring me. That day when you approached Rodrigo to dance with you and reveal your feelings for him, that was gold! When I saw that, it gave me the confidence to something like that with Tamina. Thank you."

Helga said nothing and just started at the two Latino teens with a completely disbelief and shocking face, even almost dropping her book. This whole time she thought that Rodrigo had cheated on him and was on the verge of breaking up with him and sending him to the hospital, only to be informed AT THE LAST SECOND that it was all a misunderstanding! Had David not shown up when he did, who knows what would have happened.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!" She finally and angrily shouted, prompting both teens' smile to disappear.

"Uh, no I'm not kidding." David said confusingly. "Your dance really inspired me and I'm rather shy with girls, so I wanted to do something where I could reveal my feelings for Tamina without actually telling her with words. I'm sorry if I didn't ask for your permission."

"No, no it's not that! It's just that...you had Rodrigo's hat...and I thought that... ugh!" Helga cried out frustratingly, as she rubbed her eyes with her free hand.

_Just breathe deeply, Helga, don't freak out. It's over, he didn't cheat on you, it was all a MISUNDERSTANDING! Ok that doesn't help, just breathe and focus on the positive. He didn't cheat on you. He's trustworthy._ She thought to herself.

"Never mind. Just...I'm happy for you David, really. Congratulations." She said with an awkward smile.

"Well thanks, Helga." David said cautiously. "Anyways, I gotta get going. I just wanted tell you both again thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he departed, leaving Rodrigo and Helga alone again.

"See ya." Rodrigo said casually. However, as soon as David left the scene, he turned to face Helga and said,

"Ok, what's going on here?" He sternly asked her . "You stood me up without saying anything at lunch, then you show up and you look like you've been crying and now you're angry at David for stealing your idea. What is going on here?"

"Ya, about that." She said awkwardly. "I just wasn't having a good day today and I didn't want to take it out on you anymore than I already did this morning." She continued. "It's nothing, really." She continued, now with a smile. "Actually, you can say that whatever was bothering me, it's behind me now."

Before Rodrigo had a chance to answer, Helga then leaned in and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Rodrigo." She said with a big smile on her face.

"Umm, you're welcome." He said confusingly. "For what?"

"For being honest with me." She said as she kissed him on the lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. After a little while, they unlocked each from their arms.

"Just do me a big favour, would ya Latino boy?" She asked as she zipped up his sweater.

"Sure, what?" He said.

"Don't lend your hat to anyone. It looks better on you and I'd prefer to keep it that way." She said with a smile.

"Ok, sure." He said confusingly.

**Later that evening...**

After coming home, Helga immediately called Phoebe and explained to her what she had found out. Phoebe was so shocked and yet so relieved by all of this that she nearly fell down from her chair. After engaging in a few more talks, Helga hanged up and attempted to write her everyday letter to Arnold.

After thirty minutes, she wasn't able to write anything more other than, _'Dear football head_,' She was hesitating about wanting to write about any drama or issues with her boyfriend to her ex-boyfriend.

_This is just weird,_ She thought. _If not just downright awkward. How would I feel if Arnold sent me letters about someone whom he met?_

The thought of Arnold finding someone else, even now, sent a painful punch to her stomach. Even now with Rodrigo by her side, she still wasn't ready to fully let him go.

Getting annoyed by her indecisiveness, she put the letter aside and attempted to do her remaining homework, which wasn't a lot. Once she completed that, she resorted to at least mak the decision to write to Arnold about something. Finally, after some thought, she started writing.

_Dear football head,_

_A funny thing happened today, one in which could have landed me into serious trouble. I won't go into any serious details, mostly because it is just a long story and I would have ended up writing to you a novel._

_Do you recall the times when I would get jealous over just about every time a girl approached you or was looking at you in a loving or flirtatious way? I still remember those times, one that I was never proud of._

_I just want to say that I'm sorry for having to put you through so many dramatic loops when we were together. I wish I knew then what I know now. No, I wish I had then what I have now. What's that you ask? Confidence and trust. I'm sure things would have been much more settled between us had I even had the slightest confidence in myself that I was worthy of your love, with the faith in knowing that you never would have been unfaithful to me._

_Yet, I honestly say with pride that history has not repeated itself. I have you to thank for that, football head. Without your patience, your energy and willingness to help me, I never would have succeeded in obtaining these traits. Thank you._

_Now, I'm not saying that I've become a lovingly nice person who smiles all the time and says 'please and thank you'. Pfft! You know that's not who I am and I have no intention of ever changing that part of me. I just like how I was able to add these two other traits without really changing who I am._

_Well, needless to say that I've been putting these traits to good use and by George, have they worked! Phew! And to think what I could have done without them. Don't worry; I haven't gotten into any serious trouble lately. I'm still walking about the hallways and minding my own business._

_Speaking of which, I'm not sure why, but I've noticed an increase in infighting breaking out at our school. No, I didn't start them Arnoldo, if that's what you're thinking! But they have been becoming very frequent lately. I'm sure they have something to do with some rumours and slanders that have been spreading around our school about some of our fellow Neanderthals that we call our 'fellow students'. Normally, I wouldn't care about these things, but they have been affecting student morale, up to the point where it is becoming a bit difficult to talk to anyone without the fear of saying anything racist or homophobic. The other day, I saw a fight break out between two supposedly 'good friends' when one of them made a homophobic joke. Personally, I found it to be funny, but not his other friend._

_Now why does this concern me? Do I need to spell it out for you? With my sharp tongue and sarcastic remarks, I'm surprised I haven't yet gotten into any trouble with anyone over this._

_Anyways, I'm sure it'll blow over soon. Frankly, I shouldn't be so surprised that these losers would get all hyped up from a bunch of dumb rumours. _

_I got your last letter and I'm really surprised on how the hell you are able to help your parents out with their work, and get good grades at school! Did you concoct some sort of potion there from the plants and insects that you collect and gave you superhuman powers? If you did, don't hog it all to yourself, football head! Give us some! Seriously though, how do you manage to balance work and school? You must tell me your secret; I'm going to need it once I go to college._

_Your confidant,_

_Helga G. Pataki_


	8. Chapter 8 - Meeting the Patakis

"Oh ya baby! Wohoooo!" Rodrigo cried out excitedly as he raced down the street on his bicycle.

It was now the beginning of May and although it was still a bit cold to be rolling out on a bike, Rodrigo couldn't resist the temptation. The second he saw thae snow completely disappear on that morning, he ran into the garage, got out his bike and rode out. He still had to wear a jacket, but he didn't care. Spring was right around the corner and Rodrigo wanted to embrace it early on. Besides, with everyone else still shying away from the cold, Rodrigo had a virtual monopoly on the streets. No one else was riding a bike, or roller-blading or even skateboarding. The street was his!

Rodrigo rode down the streets of Hillwood as fast as he could pedal. Despite the cold still slashing and piercing his skin, he ignored the pain and continued to ride fast.

"Spring, here I come!" He yelled with a big smile on his face.

He raced past a few pedestrians who were surprised to see a youngster already taking his bike out so early in the year.

"Sorry ma'am!" Rodrigo yelled as he just barely managed to avoid collision with an older woman, who just simply frowned.

Rodrigo could not be in a better mood. He just received his latest assignment back; another A+. His parents have been doing well adjusting to their new life in Hillwood. His relationship with Helga has been going relatively well, better than he had ever hoped. Things were going well and Rodrigo had absolutely every reason to believe that he was on top of the world.

Rodrigo then came across a big hill and pedaled as fast as he could without stopping and try to get to the top. He panted and breathed heavily but eventually he made it. Stopping right at the top, he then gazed at that part of the city. With the sun still rising, it looked surreal, majestic, lively and yet, so peaceful. After spending some time admiring the view, Rodrigo then slowly started his descend down the hill.

Meanwhile, a tall, somewhat muscular man, between his late forties, mid fifties, was just coming out of the grocery store, groaning and grumbling.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Big Bob exclaimed as a bag fell down just as he walked out of the store. Rather awkwardly, he managed to grab it and then proceeded to walk to his hummer.

"I can't believe I have to get the food!" He complained loudly. "I bring home the bacon, not cook it. Why couldn't Miriam have just cancelled her damn AA meeting to go grocery shopping? For Pete's sake, it's her job! She's been doing good as of late. One day in not attending wouldn't have hurt. Ugh, Olga could have accompanied her to help out. She always knows how to pick the right meat and fruits. Heck, even the girl could have done it, always moping around in her room doing nothing!"

Big Bob annoyingly just continued to walk to his hummer, which was parking right at the edge of the parking lot, an area where the sidewalk ran right beside it.

Flushed with adrenaline, Rodrigo raced down the hill, determined to reach his maximum speed and not stop. Faster and faster he raced down. As he did so, he noticed a guy walking towards his car. It soon became apparent that the guy was going to his hummer, which was parked right beside the sidewalk, even sticking out right into it a bit. Rodrigo then rang his bicycle bell, indicating to the guy to stop and wait for him to pass.

"hmm, lousy grocery bags, they couldn't have given me bigger bags to put all of these stuff in?!" Big Bob said to himself. "Why are they so small? I'm buying food to feed a family, not a bunch of Chihuahuas!" Because of his grumbling, he didn't hear Rodrigo's ring.

Realizing that the guy didn't hear him, Rodrigo rang his bell again a few times, but again, Big Bob still didn't hear him and was now approaching the driver's seat, the part of the hummer that was sticking out onto the sidewalk. Annoyed, Rodrigo then opted to move onto the road so as to avoid colliding with the big oaf. However, just as he was out to go onto the road,

***HOOONNKKK***

Rodrigo immediately heard a honk right behind him, startlingly him and forcing him to go back onto the sidewalk in order to not get ran over by the oncoming vehicle. Big Bob, who was trying to unlock his door, heard the honk and glanced at the kid that was rapidly approaching him.

Rodrigo then realized that he was about crash right into him and frantically hit his brakes, hope it would stop him on time. Unfortunately, he soon noticed that he was getting away too close and the brakes would not be enough to stop the collision.

"What the hell?!" Bob said as he saw the incoming kid with the bike that was about to hit him!

"Oh shoot, I have to slide!" Rodrigo said to himself and he turned his bike sideways in order to put more friction between the pavement and his tires.

*Sccrreeeecchhh!*

Rodrigo just barely managed to stop his bike, but due to the amount of speed, his tire ended up hitting Bob's leg. All of this happening in mere seconds, Bob did not have time to even react to what was unfolding in front of him and felt a light kick on his leg, startlingly him and forcing him to take a few steps back, thereby losing his balance and sending him down to the ground, along with all of his grocery bags.

Both of them were a bit fazed and incomprehensible due to the shock of the rapidly turn of events. However, after a few seconds, Bob finally managed to get his composure back and to his fury, realized what had just happened.

"Hey kid, are you blind?! Watch where you are going!" He angrily bellowed out at Rodrigo. "You almost hit me!"

"Oh my God sir, I am so sorry. Are you ok?" Rodrigo frantically apologized.

"No, I'm not ok!" Bob to continued his bellowing. "You made me drop all of my groceries. You better hope for your sake that nothing is broken!"

"I am so, so sorry sir. Here, let me help you." Rodrigo said as he immediately got up and helped Bob gather all of the groceries that lay scattered around them.

"You'd better be sorry! I almost got hurt by your dumb, daredevil recklessness!" Bob continued to angrily yell at the Latino kid.

"Ya, that was a dumb move on my part." Rodrigo admitted as he continued to grab all the produce and bagged vegetables and fruits from the ground.

"For crying out loud, what are you thinking of racing down that hill. You could have killed someone!" Bob continued.

"I know and I'm sorry for that, sir." Rodrigo continued apologetically, although this time with some annoyance in his tone.

"You kids these days think you own the street, disrespecting your elders and acting like you've achieved something grand, when in reality the only thing you've achieved is how big your pubic hairs are!" Bob still continued rant.

"I said was sorry, _sir_." Rodrigo said rather annoyingly, strongly emphasizing the word, 'sir'. "It was an accident. I thought you would have heard my bell ring." He finally managed gather all of the grocery bags and handed them to Big Bob.

"Hey hey hey hey hey, don't give me that smart aleck attitude, got it? First you crash into me and now you are insulting me by telling me that I am old?" Bob ranted.

"I wasn't trying to insinuate that you are old, sir." Rodrigo countered. "I just said that I thought you would have heard..."

"You've got some nerve, kid." Bob grumbled as he rudely interrupted him. "You'll be lucky if I don't decide to press charges against you!"

"Charges for what?! Rodrigo exclaimed in shock.

_This guy is really pushing me._ Rodrigo thought.

"For felony and delinquency!" Bob exclaimed.

By this point, Rodrigo lost it.

"Delinquency? For accidently touching your leg with my bike? Pfft, you big baby." He said.

"What?! What did you say to me?!" Bob angrily yelled at him and approached him closer to him, using his size to intimate Rodrigo, which had no affect on him.

"You heard me." Rodrigo said. "For someone who seems act as the big man, you sure like to complain a lot."

"Why I outta..." Bob said, now completely furious at his kid's lack of respect. "Do you know who I am, kid?! I am..."

"I don't care who you are." Rodrigo instantly shot back as he picked up his bike without even bothering to look at him.

"I would complain to your parents, but they must by the reason why you act that way to your elders; with no respect. They must have never raised you good to be a proper man and citizen!" Bob yelled.

"Actually, they did raise me to respect my elders." Rodrigo countered as he mounted his bike. "Just not to big, cry babies like you." And off he rode away as fast as he could, leaving Bob to eat his dust.

"Come back, kid! I'm not done talking to you!" Bog bellowed at him, but Rodrigo was gone.

Bob could not nothing as Rodrigo rode away, other than give him a serious glaring stare, wishing that his vision would pierce that kid and cut him into a million pieces! In the end, all he could was just grab his keys from the ground and go home.

"Lousy kid, who does he think he is?" He grumbled to himself. "If I ever see that kid that again, it'll be the last thing anyone will ever see him!"

Bob wasted no time on continuing on with his grumbling all the way home.

Rodrigo had not yet met Helga's family. Although he knew that they were at the Annual Dancing Performance that his school hosted back in March, both teens decided not to yet introduce themselves to their family as they felt it was too soon. Helga's family for their part, did not get a good view of Rodrigo when he danced with Helga on stage, other than seeing that he had brown skin with black hair and was the same height as Helga.

Rodrigo didn't even notice the ads around the city, explicitly showing the Beeper-Cell King, Bob Pataki in all his glory. Whether if it was on the bus, or whenever he drove, Rodrigo was either on his phone, talking to his friends or simply watching other things other than advertisements.

**Later that evening...**

Big Bob grumbled his way into his house, still highly annoyed with his encounter with Rodrigo. When Miriam heard him grumbling and asked what was the matter, Bob went off as he retold his story and how he was almost killed by a delinquent kid. Miriam and Olga thought that whatever his encounter was, it must have really ticked him off because he went on about it for a good thirty minutes before finally settling down. However, no sooner had everyone sat down for dinner when Bob went off again about his 'near-death experience'.

"I'd tell you Miriam, kids these days have no decency or respect for their elders, let alone anyone." Bob said as he took a big bite from his chicken. "Especially that delinquent kid. Probably came from the lowest level of society."

_Ugh crimeny, when is that big olf going to stop complaining? Whoever it was, I should probably thank him for giving Bob a good scare._ Helga thought as she took a bite from her food.

"Oh B, you can't judge these youths from our time. Things have change and how they see things are different than how we used to see them." Miriam tried to reason to him.

"Oh please Miriam." Bob scoffed as his wife's reasoning. "Things haven't changed that much and even if they did, what makes you think that these changes are any good? They have been giving these kids way too much freedom and as a result, they have come idle and lazy, not knowing what do with their 'freedom'." Again Bob took another big bite from his chicken and ate some rice.

Helga did not bother to participate in this discussion. Rather, she quietly ate her food and allowed her mind to drift off.

"But Daddy, studies have shown that giving kids more freedom and choices in life makes them that much more responsible adults." Olga intervened. "Not to mention that it allows for greater creativity and having a more fulfilling life. Parents are encouraged to allow their children to make their own decisions, with some guidance of course, in order to take responsibility for those choices."

"Oh ya? Then how do you explain the crap that has been happening at the girl's school lately? I guess the parents there must have screwed up in that department." Bob said as he pointed at Helga, who just kept on wondering in her own fantasy, completely oblivious to anything going on around her."

"We parents had to be pulled to a school night meeting in order to figure out what the heck has been happening at that school, precisely because these kids don't know to do with so much freedom in their lives! I tell ya, the school system is failing them and the same goes with those parents who adopt those 'liberal' attitudes with their kids. Good luck!" And again Bob grabbed some more rice and vegetables and put them in his mouth, munching loudly.

"Oh B, we can't put all the blame on the parents." Miriam said. "There is a lot going on in society right now and these kids are having a tough time adjusting to the circumstances."

"My point exactly! These kids have become too fragile and weary of any challenge coming their way. Instead of yearning for the challenge, they cower and run away. No worse, they allow themselves to get suckered into those stupid rumours and slanders going on there. They are not causing problems; they have become the problem. This is what happens when we allow them to 'make their own decisions.' They not only become lost, but lose any respect for authority." Bob then took another bite from his chicken and groaned a bit when he realized that there wasn't enough salt on it.

"Hey Olga, pass the salt would ya?" He mumbled with his mouth still full. He wasn't referring to his eldest daughter though.

Helga was by now so immersed in her own thoughts that she did not even hear him.

_I wonder what Rodrigo's doing right now. Probably doing something more exciting than having to sit here and listen to Bob rant on and on about that guy who 'nearly killed him'. The cry baby. Although, he did have a point about whether teens should be given more responsibility for the choices that we make. It's not like that has made things any easier for us. Hmmm, Dad can sometimes pull through in making some points every now and then, but oh well._

_Anyways, Rodrigo and I have been going out for quite a while now. I think I should give him a little something to celebrate. He gave me this necklace, so I should at least give him something, lest he would think I am being cheap. But what? Last time I had to think about this, I ended up taking him to dinner only because I wasn't able to come up with anything that he would like for me to give him. That kid, so humble and modest, it can be quite annoying..._

"HELGA!" Big Bob cried out at his youngest daughter.

"Huh? What? What?" Helga asked, startled as she snapped right out of her thoughts.

"Are you death or something? I said pass the salt!" Exclaimed Bob as he pointed to the salt that near almost beside Helga.

"Oh, here." She said annoyingly and passed him the blasted salt. Helga was then on the verge on going back to her own thoughts when Bob continued to talk to her.

"Speaking of teens, when are you going invite that boyfriend of yours to come over and meet the family?" He asked as he put some salt on his chicken.

"Come again?" Helga asked with a raised eyebrow, finally getting her full attention.

"I said when are you going to bring that boyfriend of yours to our house so that we can meet him?" Bob annoyingly re-stated his question.

"You...want to meet him?" Helga asked with a surprising, if not disbelief look on her face.

" Did I stutter? Yes!" He exclaimed.

"Uh, why?" Helga asked, still surprised.

"What do you mean Why? You're my daughter and I need to know the type of man that you're going out with. You've been dating this guy since that dance performance, which by the way, I still think you should have won, so it's time for us to meet him. Besides, there are standards and I need to make sure that that boyfriend of yours meets them." He explained.

"But, we've only started dating for about a month, Bob." Helga countered. "Isn't it a too early for him to meet the family?"

"Not my books, it's not." Bob said, but then glanced at Helga and gave her a suspicious look. "Why? Are you hiding something?" Bob asked suspiciously. "Oh crimeny, are you pregnant?!" He worryingly asked.

"Huh...wha...are you kid...NO!" Helga shot back in shock. "Geez Bob, what do you think I am?!"

"Ok good." He calmly said. "So tell your boyfriend to come over next weekend for dinner and to meet the family."

"I think that's a wonderful idea, daddy!" Olga said excitedly. "I would love to meet the man who 'exuberated' my little baby sister." She continued flirtatiously. "This is just so exciting!"

Helga said nothing and just gave Olga an annoyed frown.

"Wonderful idea, B." Miriam with a smile. "Helga dear, let us know if your boyfriend is able to come over this coming Saturday evening for dinner and Olga and I will prepare a fabulous dinner."

"Oh joy to me." Helga said sarcastically as she nibbled on her food.

"What is his name?" Miriam asked.

"Rodrigo." Helga said nonchalantly.

"Ah great, Rodrigo. Such a strong name. Is he allergic to anything?"

_Probably just you guys._ Helga thought.

"No." She responded without even looking up.

While the family excitedly planned on a not yet confirmed dinner for next Saturday, Helga was still reeling from the shock that her father was taking an interest in her life and wanting to meet her boyfriend. This is the first time in years, many years, that he wanted to know anything about her life. He had no such desire to meet Arnold when she got together with him, so why start now? But then again, it's not like Arnold and Bob have never met before and given Arnold's good reputation, it's not like he needed an introduction.

Nevertheless, Helga was taking this with a grain of salt. She knew that Bob would not find anything or anyone interesting unless there they were in some ways useful to him.

_But just how useful would Rodrigo be to Bob?_ She thought._ Rodrigo's smart, but he is not tech savvy, and as far as I am aware, he doesn't have any interest in business. So what's Bob's game in this? I'll invite Rodrigo to come over for dinner, but I'm going to have to keep my eye on the big olf._

**The next day...during lunchtime...**

Everyone had already sat down and were busy eating and chatting away. Helga was sitting beside Rodrigo and while both were busy eating, she needed to ask him about Saturday evening.

"So, got some news for ya, Latino boy." Helga said.

"What is it?" Rodrigo asked.

"My family would like to meet you and asked if you can come over this Saturday evening. You free to come?" She asked.

Rodrigo knew this day would eventually come and wasn't surprised that Helga finally extended the invitation for him to meet her family. He was just surprised that she was extending that invitation after only dating for about a month!

"Um Helga," Rodrigo began a bit shyly. "isn't it a bit too early for me to meet your family? We've only been dating..."

"About a month or so, ya I know." She finished his sentence. "I told Bob that, but him being as stubborn as a mule, is adamant on meeting you. I'm not sure why. He didn't have the same desire to meet Arnold."

"Really?" Rodrigo asked surprisingly. "How come?"

"Not sure." Helga said. "I thought it may have been due to his bitterness with Phil over their cars hitting each other all those years ago, but once Arnold actually met the family, he didn't take it out on him."

"I see." Was all Rodrigo said.

"I guess it's also because Bob already knew Arnold before we got together, so there was little need for me to 'introduce' him to Bob, considering as how he essentially saved the neighbourhood and everything." She continued. "Anyways, you free on Saturday evening?"

"Ya sure, I would like to finally meet them." He said.

"Cool. I'll let them know. Come over at 6pm sharp." She said. "Don't be late." She continued firmly.

"Will do. Thanks." He said. However, despite this being an inevitable encounter, he was not thrilled about meeting them.

The truth was, Rodrigo was reluctant, if not unhappy about meeting her family. After everything they put Helga through, especially her parents, Rodrigo had little desire in ever wanting to meet them. Actually it's worse; he had little respect for them, especially for her father. Rodrigo even went so far as to assume that Bob would not even bother giving him the usual fatherly warning that all fathers stereotypical do for their daughters. Heck, he even thought getting her out of that environment as quickly as possible. If he had it his way, he would have allowed her to move into his own house. For obvious reasons, he decided against making that suggestion.

Nevertheless, despite how he may feel about them, he did not want to cause any issues between himself and her family. Like it or not, if things went long-term with Helga, he they would become part of their lives and it made little sense for Rodrigo to make enemies out of them. Plus, he didn't want to be rude, so he accepted the invitation.

"Um, should I bring something?" Rodrigo nervously asked.

"Ya, yourself." Helga responded.

Despite his reluctance, Rodrigo tried to be positive about all of this.

_Who knows, I mean, maybe this is an opportunity to get to know them and I might find something nice about them. _ He thought.

Although, he wasn't holding his breath.

**Saturday evening...**

Rodrigo arrived at the Pataki's house exactly at 6 p.m. Wanting to make an impression, he dressed a bit formally for the occasion. He rang the doorbell and nervously waited for it to open.

There was a lot going on in his mind at the moment. Firstly, he remained adamant that despite how her family treated Helga, Rodrigo would not allow that to cloud his judgement, nor prevent him from trying to make a good impression. He wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to open up so he can see for himself who they really are.

Within less of a minute, the door swung open.

"Well, you're on time; for once." Helga said as she opened the door for him.

"What are you talking about? I'm always on time." Rodrigo said as he came inside.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that." Helga said with a smirk and offered to take Rodrigo's coat. Just then, two more people arrived to greet him.

"Rodrigo! So nice to finally meet you. I'm Miriam." She said as she extended her hand to greet him.

"It's very nice to meet you as well Mrs. Pataki. Thank you for the invitation." Rodrigo said with a smile and shook her hand.

"Oh, and I am Helga's older sister, Olga. So nice to finally meet the man that has put a bit of bright light into my baby sister's life." She said with a delightful smile.

Helga didn't say anything other than give Olga an embarrassing scowling face. Lucky for her, Rodrigo wasn't looking at her.

"Nice to meet you too Olga." Rodrigo said to her as he shook her hand. "I picked these flowers for all three of you." He continued as he gave each woman a flower.

"Oh my, thank you, Rodrigo! How sweet of you." Miriam happily said.

"It's beautiful, thank you." Olga said as she tried not to blush.

"Gee thanks." Helga said dispassionately. "Didn't learn your lesson the last time you got too close to a plant?" She continued with a smirk, reminding Rodrigo of the incident he had at the botanical gardens.

"Oh I learned my lesson; never take you to the botanical gardens again." He retorted back at her.

"There you go. You're getting to know me more day by day." She said as she gave him a slap on his back.

"Well Rodrigo, I hope you brought your appetite with you." Miriam said.

"Oh I did Mrs. Pataki." Rodrigo said.

"I hope so. We butchered a whole cow for this dinner." Helga said. "We put the head on a pike and left it in the backyard."

"Wow, that's beautifully savage of you." Rodrigo said sarcastically.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, baby sister." Olga said with a smile on her face. "We just cooked up a nice dinner for this special event."

"Well, please come on in." Miriam said as she gestured with her hand for Rodrigo to fully walk into the house.

Rodrigo and the three ladies then walked into the living room and prepared to sit down to chat a bit before having dinner. However, after just taking a few steps into the living room, a noise was heard from upstairs, then some stomping. Rodrigo realized that it must be none other than Bob Pataki.

"Miriam is he here yet?!" Bob called out.

"Yes B. Come on down and say hello to Rodrigo." Miriam responded.

_That voice. Where did I hear it before?_ Rodrigo thought to himself.

"Alright, alright." Bob said as he stomped his way down to the main floor.

Rodrigo sat down and waited patiently for Helga's father, if he can call him that, to enter the room and make their introduction.

_Man, I hope he doesn't give me one of those typical father threats to 'not mess with his daughter's heart or he'll kill me', or to 'not deflower her.'._ Rodrigo thought with a shiver.

Eventually, Big Bob entered the room and made his debut. Rodrigo got up and prepared to politely greet him.

"Alright, let me take a look at hi..."

"YOU!" both Rodrigo and Bob said to each other in pure shock and much to the confusion of Miriam, Olga and Helga.

"What is this delinquent doing in my house?!" Bob angrily roared.

"Bob!" Helga shocking exclaimed at her father.

"B!" Miriam exclaimed in horror.

"Daddy!" Olga exclaimed.

As much as Rodrigo wanted to say something back for that offensive remark, he said nothing, other than giving Bob a serious scowling face.

"Olga! I thought you said you were bringing your boyfriend over! Why did you bring the guy that nearly ran me over last week and how do you know him?!" Bob angrily shouted at her.

_The big baby! I merely touched his leg with my bike. What a whimp!_ Rodrigo thought.

It had now become apparent to everyone that due to cosmic twist of fate, the delinquent that Bob was talking about and had him all worked up last weekend was Helga's boyfriend.

"Bob! This _IS_ my boyfriend, Rodrigo!" Helga angrily shot back as she pointed at Rodrigo.

Helga could not relief the shocking, disbelief and angry look on her face. Out of the dumb losers that could have been, it had to be her own boyfriend! She instantly saw whatever little opportunity there was for her family to make a good impression was quickly going out the window!

_You have got to be kidding me?! Crimeny, what do I have to do in order to get some damn good luck around here!_ Helga angrily thought. _It's bad enough that there was little hope of these people making any kind of a good impression, but now I have to deal with the fact that my own father is going to try and kill my boyfriend!_

"What?!" Bob shockingly exclaimed.

Rodrigo by this time was within inches of just leaving the house. Feeling utterly furious for that offensive remark and not wanting to cause a big scene, he felt it was wise to just leave. Besides, whatever hope he had about trying to make a good impression had just essentially gone out the window.

However, just as he was about to take his first step to get out of the house, he noticed that Bob's angry demeanour quickly changed.

"Oh well, please to meet you Rod." Bob said rather calmly and he extended his hand. His face had changed from one of anger and scowl to an almost emotionless and calm expression.

Rodrigo at first did not move, feeling very confused by his sudden change. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Was he pulling something? Eventually, not wanting to leave him hanging, he extended his own hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you too...sir." Rodrigo said hesitatingly.

"Well, what's everyone standing around for? Come on, let's eat. I'm starving." Bob said as he turned around and head to the dinner table.

Rodrigo, still confused and hesitant, nevertheless followed suit, leaving Olga, Miriam and Helga completely baffled in the living room. Their eyes were wide and their jaws were hanging. None knew what to make of Bob's sudden change in both tone and demeanour, let alone that he was acting rather tolerant thus far. Eventually, all three ladies snapped out of their trance and headed to the dinner table.

Helga was especially suspicious at Bob's sudden change in behaviour. She knew that Bob wouldn't ever try to be civil unless it was in some ways useful to him or if it already did something for him. She knew he had an angle, but what was it?

_Better keep my eye on him._ She thought.

Dinner at the Pataki table with the Patakis was...awkward and annoying, to say the least. If Rodrigo thought eating dinner would have lighten things up, oh he was soundly mistaken. No sooner had they sat down and started serving dinner, Bob wasted no time in dominating the conversation. Seemingly to have forgotten the rather tense moment between him and Rodrigo, Bob spoke about his latest business dealings, and its ups and downs. Rodrigo was rather flabbergasted by Bob's tendency to dominate the dinner table. They had only just sat down to eat and it looked as if Bob was giving no one else the opportunity to talk, not even Rodrigo.

"So anyways, this customer came in two days before, asking if the new iPhone that only came out about a month ago was on sale. I simply told him no and the idiot tried to argue with me, telling me that other stores have that same iPhone on sale. I knew he was a load of crap, but I just told him just go to those stores for his damned sale. The cheapskate! Can you believe that?!" Bob retold his story.

_What was the point of inviting me if this guy is just going to talk about himself?_ Rodrigo thought annoyingly.

While eating, Rodrigo covertly looked around the dinner table and saw the rather disgruntled and/or bored looks in the faces of the rest of the family. Helga looked rather bored, if not also embarrassed by her father's abrasive antics and looked to as if she was just counting the minutes to when this scenario would just end. It became clear to Rodrigo that Helga was just not liking him to meet her family. Over to the other end of the table, Miriam ate her food quietly but looked as if she was about to fall asleep at any minute. Rodrigo couldn't tell if it was due to the boredom or if perhaps she...relapsed again. Directly in front of him was Olga and the look on her face kind of frightened him. Olga ate and but listened attentively to her father with a rather pathological smile on her face, almost as if she was trying to hide her true feelings, but what they were, Rodrigo didn't know.

"In the end, I just told him that what the price says on the ticket is what it is and if he didn't like it, then he can get lost and stop wasting my time! Two days later, he came back and bought the stupid phone. What a loser!" Bob happily exclaimed at this seemingly great work of salesmanship.

Not really paying attention and feeling somewhat disappointed, Rodrigo just slumped down on his seat and just quietly ate his food.

_Well, at least Bob seems to have forgotten our 'encounter' last week. I should at least be happy about that._ Rodrigo thought. _Whatever prompted Helga's dad to all of a sudden change his behaviour, I should be thankful._

At the very least, both Rodrigo and Helga got to enjoy some rather good food. The ladies carefully prepared a rather fine cooked roast beef, baked with various vegetables. As side dishes, mash potatoes and salad were also prepared, while red wine was served, for the adults of course. Both Rodrigo and Helga enjoyed a good yahoo soda bottle.

Rodrigo wanted to thank the family for a well prepared dish, but Bob's continued ranting prevented him from saying anything.

_Ugh, so much for talking._ Rodrigo thought.

After about a total of twenty minutes of this torturous scenario, Bob took a big bite from his roast beef and stuffed himself with some vegetables, to the amazement of Rodrigo.

_Wow! Well, I guess I know now where Helga got her table manners from._ He thought.

During this whole time, Miriam was passionately dispassionately looking at her plate and eating whatever was on it. It wasn't even known if she was enjoying her own food. Although still retaining some sense of desire to talk, she had long given up at any attempt in talking at the dinner table while her husband was there. Only during certain gaps when Bib sometimes stuffed his mouth full did Miriam used the opportunity to talk, but it did not come often. Incredibly, upon glancing at her husband and seeing that he was momentarily neutralized, she took her chance to finally speak.

"So Rodrigo, what are your interests?" She abruptly asked him.

That prompted Rodrigo and everyone to finally snap out of their boredom or thoughts and glanced at Miriam who all of a sudden seemed to have been completely rejuvenated. She was previously slouching at the table, but now she was sitting upright, eating a bit more properly than before and even had a bit of a smile on her face.

_Thank you!_ Rodrigo happily said to himself. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he took it.

"Well, I love to read." He said.

"Oh, what kind of topic interests you?" Olga asked.

"Just about anything, really. But I am mostly interested in the social sciences, political science, philosophy, religion, fantasy, etc."

"Oh really? By chance, have you read _The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts and Muggle_?" Olga intriguingly asked.

"No, but I heard a lot of good things about it." Rodrigo responded. "I've heard of a commentary on YouTube about the book and although it didn't go into all of the details, it was still quite fascinating!"

Olga, a bit impressed with Rodrigo's seemingly book smarts, gave Helga a wink, to which Helga merely rolled her eyes.

"How many books have you read?" Miriam asked.

"He lost count." Helga interjected. "He's got a full shelf full of them. I don't even know where he gets the time to read them."

"It's true." Rodrigo said. "I have a lot of books that I've collected over the years and I honestly do not know how many of them I have. It's a lot."

"You got any books about business?" Bob all of a sudden asked, finally freeing his mouth from all the food he stuffed himself with earlier, which kind of surprised everyone, as he didn't seem to attempt to change the conversation back to him.

"I have a few." Rodrigo said shyly. "One is about accounting; the other is on business strategy."

"Business strategy, huh?" Bob remarked, looking rather interested. "What did it teach you?"

"Well, it's a book that basis its study from the ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, but you can apply his teachings to sports and business in much the same way as in war." Rodrigo explained.

"Oh really? And what does this Shunzi guy have to say about taking out your competitors?" Bob asked.

"It's Sun Tzu, sir." Rodrigo politely corrected him. "He would advise to always attack the areas where your competitors are at their weakest, while also understanding them very well. You know, how their supply chain works, the way they try to sell; a cell phone, or as a gateway into a whole new realm of information and networking, even the type of people that they recruit. Once you understand your competitors, it shouldn't be too hard to take them down."

"You can get all of that from reading the works of a Chinese guy that some people say may have never even existed?" Helga asked a bit curiously

"Hold on Olga, can't you see we're talking here?" Bob quickly interjected before Rodrigo could have a chance to respond. "Yes, I remember reading a bit about him back in my college days. I think it was enticing your enemies to attack you in a place where you want them to attack, and then hit them from behind! Ha, I love it."

Helga frowned at her so-called dad for shushing her, but said nothing other than roll her eyes in annoyance. By coincidence, she then glanced at Rodrigo, who saw that his facial had completely changed. Furious at Bob's rude and neglectful remark at Helga, Rodrigo was giving Bob a scowling face, although the Latino kid was unsuccessfully trying to hide it. Helga noticed his hands forming a fist and it soon dawned on her that he was about to explode. Not wanting to allow this mundane episode to ruin everyone's dinner, Helga gently extended her hand below the table and grabbed his, before Rodrigo had a chance to explode. Surprised by the sudden sensation he felt on his hand, Rodrigo turned his head to look at her, to which she simply merely shook her head. Rodrigo instantly got the point; whatever he was planning on doing, it was not worth the fight.

For the second time, her soft and gentle gesture managed to calm Rodrigo down. He instantly felt his anger disappearing and his released the tense in his hands. What was her secret? There was none. The years of being around Arnold, as well as her continued therapy sessions with Dr. Bliss have paid off. It had allowed Helga to be in more control of her anger, reducing her tendency to explode or take it out on anyone. Although this did not mean that one did not have to be careful when being around Helga, as there were certain things that still set her off.

Regardless, it came just in time..

"This Sushi guy seems like the real deal! What was it that you have about him?" Bob asked Rodrigo.

"It's Sun..." Rodrigo attempted to correct him again, but then realized the futility of it. "The book is called _The Art of War for the New Millennium: Sun Tzu's Strategies for Winning In Business Today_."

"Ya, that does sound catchy. Fetch me that book of yours, would ya? I need to read something like that in order to sharpen my management skills on conquering the market." Bob said as he continued eating his food.

"Sure." Rodrigo responded nonchalantly.

The rest of the evening want as good as it was able to when it came to the Patakis. Bob seemed to have finally allowed the rest of the family to engage in some conversation, much to their relief. More questions were asked to Rodrigo about his history, family and goals.

"So what your plans after high school, Rodrigo?" Olga asked. "Have you considered what career path you would like to take?"

"Well, I'm mostly set on being a professor." He responded. "I just need figure out what subject I'm going to study; politics, sociology, or philosophy. That I'm not sure."

Both Miriam and Olga smiled at the young teen, impressed with both is mannerism, intellect and solid future. Just the fact that Rodrigo was able to not just tolerate, but also have a descent conversation with Bob was impressive in and of itself.

"Hmhm." Bob mumbled, who didn't seem to be any more interested in the conversation.

Once dinner was over, everyone then gathered to the living room, where Miriam and Olga brought out some dessert for everyone.

"Thank you." Rodrigo said as he received his dessert. "And thank you for the lovely dinner, Mrs. Pataki."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Rodrigo." Miriam said with a smile.

The next several minutes that were spend at the Pataki living room was...extremely awkward for Rodrigo. Bob still dominated the conversation, although this time he allowed others to make certain comments or ask questions. However, it had become apparent to Rodrigo that Bob was an extremely obnoxious and inconsiderate person. He awkwardly looked about and saw the same facial expression that he saw earlier at the dinner table. The difference was that it was more profound.

Helga was sitting on the sofa, looking extremely agitated. She simply rubbed her eyes with her hand, a clear indication to Rodrigo that Helga was just wishing this night would end. By the looks of things, she looked as if she was embarrassed by them.

Rodrigo then looked at Miriam who was again looking passionately dispassionate about the events around her. Rodrigo did notice that Miriam was constantly eyeing that red wine that was on the table and worried that this scenario might push her to relapse again. Despite having initially felt contempt for Helga's mother, Rodrigo couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Miriam on having to put up with someone like Big Bob all of these years. Based on how Helga described Miriam's neglect of her, he had initially thought that Miriam was a deeply selfish and uncaring person. Now it seemed that much of the reason as to why Miriam looked so zoned out and unenergetic may have something to do with her husband. Although that didn't mean Rodrigo was rendering her blameless for Helga's neglect, meeting her family did reveal more about them than Helga divulged.

Next he looked at Olga, whom he was by now just mortified at her smile. It wasn't genuine, but more so, it was downright scary, like in one of those horror movies where the killer made that smile as he/she taunted his/her victim. It wasn't because her smile was hideous. It was just so...fake. Rodrigo could tell from a mile that Olga was completely faking her smile and cheerful personality throughout this whole time. However, he understood why. Given how Bob's constant domination was sucking away at the life of both Miriam and Helga, Olga felt she needed to step up and attempt to salvage not only this dinner, but the entire family. She knew what everything else was thinking about this family and she was desperately trying to cover it up.

_That is just so...sad._ Rodrigo thought somberly. _Is anybody happy in this family?_

Naturally, this only made Rodrigo feel worse not just about the awkwardness that he was feeling, but also about everyone. Because he had only spoken to Helga about _her_ family life, it had never dawned on Rodrigo on how the her family might be feeling about their stake in this family. He had come to the conclusion that no one in this family seemed to be happy with their situation. Only Bob seemed to be somewhat content with how things are going.

Rodrigo then looked at Bob who still talking and couldn't help but give him a frowning face. Looking at him was looking at the source of the Pataki's woes. His grotesque demeanour, his obnoxiousness and rude remarks, not to mention just how inconsiderate, if not completely ignorant about other people feelings he really was.

_There is nothing good about this man._ Rodrigo thought.

Finally, after being in that house for a bit more than two hours, it was time for Rodrigo to leave. He thanked everyone for the dinner and 'complimented' on how nice it was to have met them all. Olga and Miriam reciprocated the same feeling, genuinely, about Rodrigo and Miriam commented on how such a nice boy he is, much to Rodrigo's delight.

_At least I impressed someone tonight._ Rodrigo thought.

"Alright, let's go. I'll walk you home." Helga said, finally relieved that this night had ended rather well despite the initially tense moment between Rodrigo and Bob, as well finally looking forward to spending some time with him alone.

However, just as they were about to leave, Rodrigo then felt someone grab his shoulder.

"Hold on there, Rod." Bob said to him. "I want you to stay a bit later. There is something that I would like to discuss with you...privately."

_Uh oh._ Rodrigo thought worryingly.

"Privately? What are you planning here, Bob?" Helga bluntly asked him with a suspicious look. "You'd better not scare the living daylights out of him. That's my job."

"Oh for crying out loud, I just want talk to him ok?!" Bob said with a raised voice. "Don't keep your pants in a bunch. Women."

Rodrigo wondered nervously about just what Bob wanted to talk to him about?

_Is it about the incident that happened last week? I thought he was past that._ Rodrigo thought._ Or, is he going to offer me a job? The latter could work._

"Rod." Bob called out to him as he showed him the way where he wanted to talk to him privately.

Rodrigo then looked at Helga, who merely just shrugged her shoulders. Then, he started walking away from her and followed Bob.

Bob took Rodrigo to another, somewhat smaller room. There was a couch, a rather old computer on one side of a desk, with a laptop right beside it and a bunch of papers scattered around the desk. Naturally, Rodrigo thought this room was Bob's office as he went inside and Bob closed the door.

"Have a seat, Rod." Bob said.

Rodrigo took it more as an order rather than as a kind gesture, but nevertheless sat down without question. By this point, Rodrigo was starting to become even more nervous. Neither of them has uttered a word since they entered the room and although it was only a few seconds, to Rodrigo, it already seemed like minutes.

_I'd just wish he get on with it already!_ Rodrigo thought anxiously.

While still not speaking, Bob then went towards the desk, where there was a bottle of Scotch whisky on top of it, along with a few glass. Taking a glass, he then poured himself a small bit of whisky inside it, and then took a simple sip of it. Rodrigo said nothing but just cringed at the mere sight of it, as it forced him to remember his unfortunate encounter with whisky some years ago back in L.A. He was just thankful that he was still below the drinking age, deterring Bob from wanting to drink with him.

After his sip, Bob pulled the desk chair and sat down in front of Rodrigo. Throughout this whole time, Bob was calm and seemingly confident, as if he was in full control of this situation. However, no sooner had he sat down when Rodrigo noticed a sudden change in him. Almost immediately, his confidence gave way and he started looking quite nervous, confusing Rodrigo,

_Why does he all of a sudden look so nervous? What does he want to talk about?_ Rodrigo thought.

"Rod, whatever is discussed here will not leave this room, got it." Bob finally spoke, trying to sound his usual dominating self, although it was obvious that he also spelled out some nervousness in his voice.

"Yes, sir." Rodrigo acknowledged.

After clearing his throat, Bob began.

"Alright, I brought you here because I wanted to discuss something with you, or rather share something. Or I guess, inform you of something and wanting to show my appreciation, but mostly just tell you something." He nervously stumbled his words.

"Sir?" Rodrigo said confusingly.

"Ugh crimeny, this isn't working out!" Bob exclaimed frustratingly. "Look, I'm no good at this, so I'm just going to flat out say it! I brought you here because I wanted to umm...well...thank you."

"Thank me, sir?" Rodrigo asked.

"Did I stutter? Yes, to say thank you." Bob retorted back nervously.

"Thank me for what?" He asked.

Knowing that Rodrigo was obviously confused, Bob just sighed and attempted to just tell him.

"Look, I'm not dumb." He began. "I know that Archie..."

"Who, sir?" Rodrigo interjected. "Who's Archie?"

"Umm, I mean Arnold." Bob corrected himself. "Arnold leaving Hillwood to be with his parents really affected Helga."

As he began to tell Rodrigo, Bob's facial expression turned to one of sadness. "When Arnold left, Helga would coup herself up in her room for days on end, never coming down unless she had to, never saying 'hi' to any of us. Miriam and Olga also told me that she wouldn't even hang out with her friends, not even that scrawny little Asian girl. The few times I did see her, all I saw was a very sad or highly irritated look on her face. She never smiled, never uttered a word, she would often explode in anger at us. This went on for years. It was as if she was dead inside."

"I tried talking to her about it, and tried to push her to snap out of it, but it always ended up in us just yelling at each other and her slamming the door. I realized that I was only making it worse for her, so I just let her be and hope she would get out of it." He continued.

Rodrigo remained utterly quiet as he heard Bob. What Rodrigo found very surprising was not the state that Helga was in when Arnold left. That he already knew. But the fact that Bob actually noticed how depressed Helga was during that time is what surprised him! He noticed.

"Then, I noticed a change in her." He continued, even allowing himself to smile a tiny bit. "During these last few months, Helga became more 'active', more 'alive', you know?"

"Um, what do you mean by that, sir? How was she 'active' and 'alive'?" Rodrigo asked.

**2 weeks earlier...**

It was a late Saturday morning and the Patakis were in the kitchen. Big Bob was sitting on one of the stools reading his newspaper, grumbling away. Miriam and Olga were also in the kitchen and just sipping away at their coffees while talking to each other. Then, Helga came downstairs and then walked into the kitchen, smiling and...humming?

"Good morning." She said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.

Everyone, including Bob, noticed her cheerfulness, although Bob reframed from looking at her and just continued to stare at his newspaper, pretending not to bother. Miriam and Olga meanwhile stopped their conversation and glanced at her with surprising look on their faces.

"My baby sister, you're in a cheerful mood today." Olga commented with a smile.

"Well, what's not to be cheerful about today?" Helga responded as she took a piece of toast. "The sun is shining, the bird are chirping and mating away, the flowers the blooming. It's a nice day!"

Olga and Miriam said nothing and just stared at Helga, completely baffled by what she just said. She said something...positive, something happy. Is she sick?

"What?" Helga asked, noticing their staring. "Do I have boogers on my nose or something?"

"No, it's just that...well...we've never seen you this...happy" Miriam carefully responded. _For the first time in a long time_. She happily thought.

"Indeed, this wouldn't have anything with Rodrigo, would it?" Olga asked teasingly with a wink and a smile.

That comment struck Helga hard and stared at both her mom and older sister with wide eyes. Up until now, she hadn't realized that her behaviour would ever change, at least not to the extent that her family would notice.

"Wha, I mean um, sure I may 'like' him, you know." Helga attempted to nervously himself. "B-B-But that's doesn't mean that Latino boy has changed me!" She quickly reaffirmed her assertiveness "Nor will he ever, unless I say so." She said with a triumphant smile and then attempted to lean on the counter,

"Offf!" Only for her to miss it and completely fall to the ground. She quickly got up and, with a nervous smile attempted to lean on the counter again, only to miss it a second time and fell right to the ground again, much to her embarrassment.

Miriam and Olga looked on and merely giggled. Bob meanwhile was listening to everything that was going on and from time to time took a peek from above his newspaper.

"Anyways," Helga spoke as she got up from the floor a second time. "I gotta go. I told Rodrigo that I would meet him in a few minutes and I'm already late."

"Oh?" Miriam said. "And where you two might be going, hmmm?" She continued teasingly.

"Eh, nowhere in particular." Helga casually responded, as she made her way to the door. "We're just going to go for a walk at the park and later grab a bite to eat. You guys want anything?"

Again, both Olga and Miriam became silent, surprised that was Helga even offering to bring back food for them. She had never done that.

"Oh um, no thanks dear." Miriam responded. "Have fun."

"Alright, see ya." Helga said, as she made her way to the door, put her shoes on, then walked out of the house, closing the door, smiling and still humming with a smile while she walked to meet up with Rodrigo.

Miriam and Olga, the second Helga left the house, watched with both awe and joy as the youngest member in their family seemed to finally have some measure of happiness. Bob, although not having moved an inch during the whole thing, returned back to his newspaper and smiled.

**Back at the present...**

Rodrigo stood silent, completely stunned at what Bob had just told him.

"Wow..." was all Rodrigo could say.

Bob took a sip from his whisky before he began to talk again.

"Anyways, I'm thankful that Helga is able to finally move away from her sorry state that she was in and found a decent guy like you."

"Um, thank you, sir" Rodrigo said surprisingly.

"By the way, sorry for acting all aggressive on you last week." Bob said a bit reluctantly. "I know you didn't mean to bump into me like that and I just...overreacted a bit."

"It's ok, Mr. Pataki." Rodrigo said with a bit of a smile, prompting Bob to smile back a bit as well.

"Look Rod, I'm not trying to pressure you to be with Helga." Bob said. "That's not why I'm telling you this. I don't want you to think of anything long-term with her because you feel you have to; I want you to do it because you want to. I just wanted to show my gratitude in helping Helga out in her time of need."

Rodrigo, although still stunned by all of this, proceeded say something about that.

"Sir, I wish I could promise you that things will become long-term between us and will eventually lead to, marriage and stuff. But, the truth is that I don't know how things will turn out between me and Helga. Because of that, I cannot promise you that we will last. I mean, I would really like it to. I really like Helga and I want to be with her, but I don't want to make any promises when there are so many factors outside of our control. However, what I can promise you is that I will do whatever it takes to make her feel safe and happy."

Bob, appreciative of Rodrigo's honesty, then smiled and extended his hand. "Thank you for that Rod."

Rodrigo also smiled and shook his hand. However, Bob then tightened his grip on Rodrigo's hand, yanked him towards him and said,

"But seriously, if you break my daughter's heart, I'll break your neck. Kapish?"

_Seriously?! I thought I dodged that bullet._ He thought.

"Got it, sir." Rodrigo responded back annoyingly.

After their talk, Rodrigo and Bob then said good night and walked out of the room. When the ladies saw Rodrigo and Bob again, they weren't sure what to say to them.

"So what did the two gentlemen talk about?" Olga asked.

"I've said my peace." Was all Bob said. "Night Rod." And he walked upstairs.

"Night, Mr. Pataki." Said Rodrigo. "Olga, Mrs. Pataki, thank you again for the lovely food and your hospitality." He quickly said to them before they got a chance to ask him about what transpired.

"It was our pleasure, Rodrigo." Miriam said with a smile. "We hope to see you again soon."

"It was lovely to meet you Rodrigo." Olga said with an actual, genuine smile.

"Same here. Good night." Rodrigo said to them.

"Come on Latino boy. Let's go before I fall asleep here." Helga interjected.

Rodrigo then grabbed his coat and walked with Helga outside. As soon as they were on the pavement, Helga then instantly got closer and wrapped her arm around Rodrigo's and held his hand, much to his surprise.

"So, what did you and Bob talk about?" Helga asked, as they continued walking.

"I can't say." Rodrigo said.

"Really? We've only started dating for about a month and you're already keeping secrets from me? Wow, you move fast! Next thing I know, you'll plant a ring on my finger without me even knowing it." Helga joked and gave Rodrigo a nudge on his arm with her arm.

"Funny, Helga." Rodrigo said. "I can't say because I promised your dad I wouldn't say anything. He spoke to me in confidence."

"Fine, whatever floats his boat." Helga said as she rolled her eyes. "At least you got out of that room in one piece."

"What I can tell you though," Rodrigo then said. "is that nothing bad or negative was said between us. Actually, I would even go so far as to say that, we didn't really bond, but I was able to see a side of him that I didn't think was there and that brought us a bit closer."

"Closer? Ha! That's a laugh." Helga scoffed. "There's only one person Bob likes to get close to and that is himself."

"To be fair, I kind of had the same opinion of him...and of your family; you know, after everything you've told me about them and after what you went through. But after tonight, I saw a different side of them, especially your dad. Despite our tense moment back there, they, including your dad, in his own way, accepted me with open arms and were really nice and warmly welcomed me into their house. So, at risk of sounding a bit idealistic, they are...ok. I got to see their nice sides." Rodrigo explained, trying carefully to explain how he felt about them without indicating to Helga that the neglect that she suffered was irrelevant, if not all forgiven. In Rodrigo's eyes, it wasn't.

"You don't have to be nice about it." Helga said. "You can tell me the truth about my family."

"I was telling the truth." Rodrigo confirmed. "Ok sure, there were moments when I thought your mom was on the verge of relapsing again, and I could tell from a million miles that your sister's laugh and smile was not genuine. I could tell she was hiding something and that smile was only a facade. That, and it scared the bajeezus out of me. And your dad...well, I'm just not going to go there. But regardless, they were still nice and welcoming. It just showed me that despite the amount of flaws that they have, they still have a nice side to them and I appreciate it. I got to know them a bit more today and this time, it was more positive."

Helga, although still not believing Rodrigo, felt relieved to hear him say that.

"Well, thanks." She said. "I was nervous as to how this was going to turn out, especially after all the things I told you about them. When we found out that it was you who almost 'ran over' Bob last week, I nearly had a heart attack. I'm actually relieved to hear you say that."

"You weren't the only one who was nervous." Rodrigo said. "I really wanted to impress them and not give them any excuse for them to not like me. I didn't want to complicate your life any more than it already is."

"You don't make it complicated." She said. "You...make it better." She continued with a smile.

Rodrigo said nothing and just looked at her. Then, he smiled at her, held her hand a bit more tightly and continued with them walking to his house.

"Hey, your dad does know that my name is Rodrigo and not Rod, right?" He asked.


	9. Chapter 9 - Fiddling with Destiny

_Helga stepped into the stoop of the boarding house. She opened the door and walked in, somehow knowing that it was unlocked. Taking her first steps, she carefully walked in and looked around. No one was there, but she heard noises coming from the kitchen, almost as if someone was cooking. She then walked into the kitchen and saw someone there, confirming that the person was indeed cooking something. Whatever the person was cooking, it smelled good. Curiously, and in order to get a better look at the figure, Helga walked into the kitchen._

_At first, the figure was a mere shadow, given that the kitchen was entirely dark, giving Helga to ponder just how this person was able to cook under such circumstances. She quietly walked in, but then the floor creaked, just as she put her foot on the floor, prompting her to stop and nervously look at the person._

_"Helga?" The figure asked, but with the room still dark, it was impossible for Helga to see if the the figure even turned around. However, she didn't need to see him/her._

_That voice...Helga thought._

_"Arnold?" She asked._

_Finally, the room brightened, revealing an teenage Arnold Shortman, in the kitchen, with an apron on, cooking. He came back home._

_"Welcome home, Helga." Arnold said with a bright smile._

_Helga meanwhile, said nothing, completely stunned at what she was seeing. There was so many emotions that she was experiencing at that moment, that she was unable to even respond; happiness, relief, confusion, hesitation._

_"It's ok, Helga. I'm back." Arnold said, as he turned around to face her. "And I'm never leaving you again." He then opened his arms,_

_Finally, no longer taking it, Helga, with almost tears in her eyes, ran up to Arnold and hugged him tight._

_"You're-You're back. I've missed you...so, so much." She said tearfully._

_What seemed like many minutes, it was only almost a minute of them both hugging each other._

_"I've missed you too." Arnold said. _

_"But when did you get back? How? Did you managed to transfer to a high school here?" She asked._

_"It doesn't matter now." He responded. "I'm back now, with you, and that's all that matters."_

_Both continued to just hug each other, not wishing for either of them to let go._

_"Here, I made you dinner." Arnold finally said, letting her go, but still holding on to her hand._

_"Oh Arnold..." She said as she wiped a tear from her eye. "You shouldn't have."_

_"Please." Arnold offered and he gently lead Helga towards the kitchen table. There was a lighted candle, with a red rose inside a flower vase. A typical, but romantic environment._

_Helga said nothing and with a smile, allowed Arnold to guide her to sit down. He then went back to the kitchen, gathered their plates, then went back to the table and put the plates on the table. It was a nice, cooked meal. Steak, with mashed potatoes and vegetables._

_"Well, well, well. You've really outdone yourself, football head. I'm impressed." She said._

_The two then proceeded to eat their dinner without uttering an sound and just enjoy each other's company. Helga was still especially immersed in it, happily staring at Arnold constantly as they both continued to eat, giving him loving glances throughout the evening._

_*sighed* She sighed._

_After finishing their dinner, both then made their way into the living room, where they both just quietly and lovingly sat on the couch, hugging each other. Arnold lied at one end of the couch, with Helga leaning in front of him, allowing Arnold to wrap his arms around her and holding each other's hands._

_"I still can't believe you're back." Helga commented as she snuggled with him._

_"I know. I'm so sorry for ever leaving you, Helga." Arnold said. "It was a dumb mistake to have ever tried to leave you. I've been regretting it every day."_

_"It's done now. You are here and that's all that matters." Helga said with a loving smile on her face. _

_Finally, after all these years, Helga can truly say that she was happy, so, so happy. Whatever struggles she went through, it all seemed to be in the past now._

_"By the way," Helga asked. "where is everyone?"_

_But Arnold did not answer. _

_"Arnold?" Helga gently called out, but again Arnold didn't say anything._

_"Hey, I was asking you a que..." Helga began to say when she turned around, but saw that Arnold had completely disappeared._

_"Arnold? Arnold? Arnold!" Helga frantically called out, but again no answer._

_Getting worried, she got up and started walking around house, trying in vain to find him._

_"Arnold, Where are you?!" She called out._

_As she anxiously ran around the house, calling out his name, Helga began to notice that the house was...disappearing. Replacing the walls and ceilings with darkness, Helga began to grow increasingly worried, realizing that Arnold has left her...again._

_"Arnold! Please, don't leave me!" She tearfully called out to him, but again no answer._

_The boarding house slowly continued its disappearance until it was only her, alone in absolute darkness, with no one to hear her. Realizing just how alone she was now, Helga fell into despair and began to cry, tears running down her cheeks and falling without hitting any ground. The cold, hard truth permeating her entire body, Helga felt utterly alone, cold, insignificant...dead._

_"ARNOLD, PLEASE COME BACK!" She screamed into the darkness._

*GASP*

Helga instantly woke up, breathing heavily and frantically looking around to see where she was. She was sweating. After a few seconds, she realized she was in her own house, inside her room, on her bed. Once she regained some composure, she realized what had happened; she was dreaming. She then looked at her clock and saw that it was 3 a.m.

_Ugh, not again._ She groaned in thought. _It's too early to think about this right now._

Still feeling rather sleepy, Helga then lied back down and attempted to get some sleep.

**Four hours later...**

By the time Helga woke up again, it was 7 a.m...on a Sunday.

"You've got to be kidding me..." She groaned as she pulled her covers on top of her head, hoping to be able to get back to sleep.

After trying for almost twenty minutes, she realized that it was futile and grudgingly got up from bed. Helga went to her mirror to see her reflection and saw a grumpy teenage girl who hadn't sleep well. No worse, her grumpiness was slowly giving away towards anger, frustrated about the dream that she had.

This was the third dream that she had about Arnold in the past two weeks and Helga was utterly frustrated, if not just confused.

_What gives?_ She thought. _Why am I having these dreams about Arnold again? _

After brushing her hair a bit, Helga then went back to her bed to think about all of this.

"Crimeny, this is seriously confusing me!" She exclaimed. "Why am I having these dreams again? I thought they went away when I got together with Rodrigo. I haven't had any of them until about two weeks ago. Why?!"

"Ever since we've started dating, I've felt myself being more and more drawn to Rodrigo." She continued to talk to herself. "Well, at least I think I've felt being more and more drawn to him. That's gotta count for something! With each passing day, I've been thinking less and less of that football head. Heck, there were even times when days went by that I don't think of him at all! So why all of a sudden have I been dreaming about him? "

Helga rubbed eyes and forehead as she thought more and more into this, but she was kidding herself. She knew full well what the reasons were; she just didn't want to admit it to herself. Realizing that it was futile, Helga simply dropped her arms and gave out a defeated sigh.

"I'm still in love with him..." She softly admitted to herself.

It's true, ever since she started dating Rodrigo, Helga had been thinking less and less about Arnold. At first, it was only minor instances, with on some occasions having to force herself to not think about him. But as she spent more and more time with Rodrigo, she found herself slowly replacing her focus and thoughts from Arnold to him. She even recently stopped fantasizing about him. But that did not mean that she was yet out of the water. She still thought about Arnold. She already knew it was going to take a while before she would completely get him out of her system. What was bothering her was that up until recently, she thought she was making progress! Now she felt that these recent dreams were a step backward in the opposite direction.

Not feeling any good about herself, Helga just groaned at the fact that she was now questioning her decision in being with Rodrigo, hence putting the Latino kid's heart at risk of breaking it.

"Maybe going out with him wasn't a good idea." She said sadly. "I still have feelings for another person; how is that fair to Rodrigo? Maybe I should have just taken Arnold's offer to go to San Lorenzo with him. Why didn't I take that offer? I mean, what compelled me to actually say 'NO' to him? Heck, even he was surprised when I declined his offer."

Helga didn't have any doubts in her heart and mind that she liked Rodrigo, a lot. She felt it before they got together and she was feeling it now that she was with him. The problem laid in that her feelings for Arnold were still stronger than her feelings for Rodrigo and she was now afraid that her feelings might go back to loving only Arnold, thereby abandoning Rodrigo to his fate.

Yet, as much as she was questioning her decision to be with Rodrigo, she was determined to see this relationship succeed, albeit with some reluctance.

"I know I like Rodrigo a lot, so there should be no reason why I should break up with him." She said to herself. "Arnold is not here and he has made no indication that he will ever come back. Quite the opposite, in fact. Rodrigo is here and unlike Arnold, Rodrigo is willing to be with me. And I am will...no, I want to be with him."

As determined as she may sound, Helga still slumped back into her bed, knowing that not even she was 100% convinced about this enterprise. There was just too many ifs and buts for her to not ignore.

"At least one of us is confident in this relationship." She tried to reassure herself.

**Later in the day...**

Rodrigo stepped out of his house, ready to go for a jog. It was a beautiful Sunday late morning and Rodrigo was looking forward to jogging at the park. Although still a bit chilly, he was prepared. Wearing a sweater and sweat pants, he was confident that was all he needed. That and bottled water. Taking a deep breath to smell the sweet, but polluted, urban air of spring, he then put his headphones on and began to head to the park.

It took a while for him to get there, but using that distance as an opportunity, he decided to begin his jog early and started jogging while still on the pavement. That made things a bit better, as he arrived at the park in no time.

As he entered the park, Rodrigo was amazed at how alive everything was. The flowers were just beginning to sprout, the grass was growing and the leaves were just coming out from the trees. The park was coming alive with very slow, but much activity. Rodrigo even saw some squirrels and a gopher coming out from their homes. Feeling satisfied, Rodrigo took his jog with full force.

After 30 minutes of jogging, he stopped next to a tree to catch his breath. While breathing heavily, he took out his bottled water, opened it and drank. After consuming enough water, he put his bottle away and leaned on the tree to rest a bit, with his palm touching the trunk. It was then when he felt a scrap on that very trunk. Then he felt another scrap. At first, it didn't register to Rodrigo what it exactly it was, but as he continued to unconsciously fiddle his fingers with it, he realized that those scraps contained a pattern. Curiously, he turned around to see what it was and saw that there was a carving on that tree.

It wasn't just any carving. It was the carving of a heart with two names inside it. Rodrigo would have probably thought that it was a typical, love induced couple carving their names on the tree, had it not been for the two names he recognized! Upon reading it, his heart sank.

"Arnold + Helga 4ever..."

Rodrigo took his time and examined the romantic carving with both his eyes and his hands. Upon feeling it and glancing at it whenever his hand went, he noticed just how painstakingly it was carved, with small little designs on it, giving it an artistic feeling to it. Even the names were carved out pretty well. He realized that the carving was made out of love, dedication, patience and endurance. Just like them...Almost immediately, Rodrigo began to feel down.

No longer desiring to continue his jog, he just walked to a bench that was nearby, slumped down and thought about what he just saw. Almost immediately, the same emotions that he experienced back in March were resurfacing; sadness and guilt.

_I don't know why that carving is affecting me._ He thought. _Helga made it very clear that she wants to be with me. I gave her the opportunity to be with Arnold and she still refused! She chose me over Arnold. It's over, it's done now, it's in the past...isn't it? I mean, I know she hadn't yet exactly moved on, but things have been going pretty well between us and it's not like Helga has been having any second thoughts about us...does she?_

Rodrigo didn't know the answer to that. Ever since Arnold left back in March, both teens made it a point to not really discuss, nor even mention Arnold within their presences, unless it was necessary. Rodrigo had understood that despite Helga choosing to be with him, she still harbored strong feelings for Arnold and it would take some time for her to completely get over him. Although Helga seemed genuinely glad to be with him and had not been showing any indication of regret, he still couldn't be a 100% sure of that.

Yet surprisingly, that didn't bother him. What was bothering him was that he never came to terms with his own guilt in coming between Arnold and Helga. Even now, he still felt he had somehow trifled with something that was deterministic, with something that was destined to happen, but then was abruptly interrupted and diverted by him. In other words, he felt he shouldn't be with Helga. It wasn't that he thought he didn't deserve her. No. He just thought that he shouldn't be with Helga; that somehow their feelings for each other was a form of forbidden love that was never supposed to have happened. Until now, he was able to simply repressed such feelings, but seeing that carving now had ignited such guilt back into consciousness and it was making him feel really down.

_Maybe I shouldn't have given in so easily to her._ He thought. _Perhaps I should have been more assertive and just pushed Helga harder to be with Arnold. I just...I like her a lot, but I just don't think I'll ever be good enough to make her as happy as she would have been with Arnold..._

Seeing as how his jog was now ruined, he decided to head back home and hoped to forget about the carving.

**The Next Day...**

Monday came and Rodrigo did not feel any better. The entire day on Sunday he felt bothered by what he saw and had hoped that it would go away by Monday, but much to his frustration, it did not. As he rolled into school, he still felt the sense of guilt weighing heavily over him, followed by a sense of sadness, a sadness that induced him to think that he shouldn't be with Helga, let alone enjoy it. As he walked towards his locker, he continued thinking about why that carving was bothering him so much and why he felt guilty about dating Helga. Rodrigo gave her the chance to be with Arnold, but Helga refused and chose to be with him. If anything, Helga should be the one to feel guilty, not him, and yet he still felt guilty about it.

Rodrigo approached his locker and semi-consciously, he opened it and prepared to gather all of his belonging for the morning classes. He was so consumed with his thoughts that as he closed his locker, he did not notice someone standing behind his locker door.

"Morning!" Helga yelled.

"Ah!" Rodrigo shouted, startling him so much that he jumped backwards and fell down to the floor.

"Hahahahaha, oh man you are so easy to scare, Latino boy!" Helga said as she laughed and leaned on the lockers, trying not to fall down to the ground in laughter. "I thought you would have learned by now, but I guess I still have that tendency to make you jump! Hahaha."

Students that were around them stopped what they were doing and looked at the couple when they heard Helga scare Rodrigo. However this time, none laughed and merely went about going on with their business.

"Oh, hey Helga." Was all Rodrigo said sadly as he slowly got up.

His somber and sad tone prompted Helga to immediately stop laughing and instantly replace her facial expression with a worried look.

"Hey, you ok?" She asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I am, just tired. Didn't sleep well last night." He lied.

Helga gave him a suspicious look. "Really? Was your brain 'active' all night like last time?" She asked him suspiciously with her arms crossed.

"Ya, something like that." He responded back nonchalantly, not really bothering in coming up with a good excuse for his mood.

Helga knew that response. It indicated to her that Rodrigo was not in the mood to discuss what was bothering him...yet. Although wanting to know how she can help him, she decided to let him be...for now.

"Alright, if you say so." She shrugged as she grabbed his hand and attempted to walk to her class. Rodrigo followed suit, albeit a bit slower.

"Hey, hurry up and walk faster. I don't want to be late for class." She said to him.

"Right, sorry Helga." Rodrigo said and started walking up to speed.

Throughout the day, Rodrigo tried very hard not to show that something was bothering him. He didn't have any explanation to offer to Helga or their friends, so he opted to stay quiet about it and just hope it would go away soon. However, Helga knew him better than he gave her credit for and noticed that whatever was bothering him, it still lingered in his mind. But as long as it wasn't causing any serious issues, she opted to stay out of it.

By Tuesday, things did not improve and by now Rodrigo was getting highly annoyed with his melancholy. The only good news that he had about all of this was that he was able to organize his thoughts and set his emotions straight in order to make it intelligible about what he was feeling. The issue was now what to do about it and whether or not tell Helga.

Since they started dating, Helga had been very careful not to mention Arnold around him, for fear of aggravating him. It suited Helga just fine because she was not willing to do or say anything that would remind her of her former beloved football head. Nor did she make any kind of direct or indirection comparisons between Rodrigo and Arnold.

Yet, Rodrigo was no fool and knew that Helga sometimes thought about him. He could tell. Whenever someone mentioned his name, or if they saw a picture of him, Helga would either cringe or become instantly nervous, if not turn her attitude a bit sour. But other than that, nothing serious. Yet, it was one thing if it bothered Helga. It was completely another thing if it bothered Rodrigo and he wasn't sure how she would take it.

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Helga could no longer stand seeing him like this and decided to speak with him right after school.

_Ugh! What's wrong with this kid?_ She thought annoyingly. _He has been acting really weird lately. He has been really quiet and has been really distracted lately, not listening to what either our friends or I have to say, forcing us to repeat what we just said to him and I hate having to repeat myself! I don't care if he doesn't want to talk about what's bothering him, but coming after school we're going to talk about this! This is getting annoying!_

Helga stayed true to her word. Once school ended, all the students were making their way towards the bus lane to go home. Rodrigo and the gang were already there, waiting. Just then, Helga arrived and tapped Rodrigo on the shoulder.

"And where are you going?" She asked him.

"Uh, home?" Rodrigo rhetorically responded back.

"No you're not. We have to talk." She firmly said.

"What, now?" He asked.

"Yes, now." She said. "Let's take a walk."

Despite his reservations, he nevertheless listened to her and started walking with her.

"Uh oh. I reckon Rodrigo is in trouble." Stinky remarked.

"Ya. It must be really bad. Helga is pulling off a classic Old Yeller scene; taking him to the park where she will put him out of his misery." Said Sid.

"Well, it was nice knowing Rod." Said Stinky.

The two teens walked quietly alongside each other, not uttering a word. Helga wanted to be clear enough away from anyone and of any distractions and so opted to walk silently for a bit. Rodrigo for his part was not willing to open up the conversation and was enjoying the silence; anything that delayed the inevitable. Actually, while they were walking, he was hoping to find some sort of excuse to not talk about what had been bothering him, but unluckily for him, he wasn't able to figure out anything.

After walking a bit more, well into the park that was close by the school, Helga stopped walking and began.

"Alight, spill it. What's been bugging you?" Helga bluntly asked him.

"Nothing has been bugging me." Rodrigo responded back.

"Don't play dumb with me, Latino boy." She firmly said to him with a frowning face. "I'm not stupid. It's been obvious that for the past three days something has been bothering you. Now I was willing to stay out of it, but seeing as how you are still whimpering over it, which is now starting to annoy the crap out of me, it's time to talk."

Realizing that it was useless to argue about this, and not wanting to lie to her, he relented.

"Ok, ok." He said. "I umm...I saw something at the park on Sunday."

"Ok...what?" She asked curiously.

"I...I went jogging at the park close by our neighbourhood and...well...I saw the carving that you and Arnold had made on a tree." He confessed.

The news completely stunned Helga and began to stare at Rodrigo with wide open eyes. Clearly remembering the memories of the day, it all of a sudden came flooding back, even the memories of when she would often go to the park to look at it after Arnold left Hillwood, painfully recalling the memories of when they were together. However, despite this, she tried to remain unfazed by it and just focused on Rodrigo. Although she could understand why something like that can bother him, she couldn't understand why it was having such a profound effect on him.

"Ok, and that bothered you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Rodrigo softly responded back.

Helga, not liking where this was going, was starting to regret asking him about this, but nevertheless, push forward.

"Please don't tell me that you are jealous." She said.

"No, I'm not jealous." Rodrigo said, much to Helga's relief.

_Phew!_ She thought.

"I mean, I thought it was jealousy, but I realized that it wasn't. I feel sad and guilty." He said.

"That doesn't make any sense, Rodrigo." She said to him with a confused look on her face. "Why would you feel sad and guilty about my history with Arnold? If anything, I'm the one who should be feeling sad and guilty."

"I'll level you Helga," He said, "I never really came to terms about how I came between you and Arnold. I was never ok with that."

When Helga just continued to stare at him and said nothing back, Rodrigo continued.

"Initially, I just sucked it up and continued by repressed these feelings and for a while I thought it worked. But when I saw that carving on the tree, everything came back up again and I haven't been able get it out of my head. I know you made it clear to me that you want to be with me, but I can't help but still feel that I somehow came in between something that no one was suppose to."

"Despite it all, I still feel that you and...Arnold are meant to be together." He nervously continued, knowing full well that he was virtually entering a minefield. "And I feel I destroyed any chance of you two getting back together again. It just makes me feel guilty and remorseful. I don't know why I feel this way, I just do."

"And..." He hesitated, unsure if he should even continue.

"And...?" Helga said with a raised eyebrow.

"And, I don't think that what we have will ever measure up with what you had with Arnold. I'm not saying that I'm trying to be like Arnold, nor am I saying that I want our relationship to be the same as how yours was with Arnold. Our is different. That's expected that I'm alright with that. It's just that I don't think I can measure up to the same expectation in order to make you happy, as happy as you felt when you were with him."

"I'm sorry Helga, but you asked what was bothering me this whole week, so I gave it to you. When we started dating you asked me to always be honest with you. So, here I am, being honest about how I feel about this. I know it's not really what you wanted to hear, but I didn't want to lie to you." He continued.

Helga said nothing and stared at Rodrigo in complete disbelief. She was speechless. She didn't really know what to say to him. Rodrigo too just watched her in silence, anxiously waiting for any kind of reaction from her, all awhile hoping that she wouldn't take this the wrong way. Then, he saw a change and it was what he feared. Helga's stunned and disbelief look gave way to a furious, scowling face.

_I really can't catch a f****** break, can I?_ She angrily thought. _It's bad enough that I have to deal with trying to get over Arnold, but now it is bothering him, and for noble reasons! Why do I always fall for these selfless guys?!_

Helga's entire demeanour quickly changed and she looked ready to explode. Her piercing blue eyes looked like daggers, ready to slice up its victim. Rodrigo, rather disappointedly, was expecting this and was already preparing for the worst. He braced himself for the upcoming eruption. However, instead of her scoffing at him, he instead heard her say,

"Just...hold on..." She said, trying to restrain herself from exploding at him with full fury. "Just give a minute." Helga then turned around, closed her eyes and started her breathing exercise while gently rubbing both sides of her head, right behind the eyes.

Rodrigo was rather surprised by this and although he made no attempt to interrupt her, he couldn't help but look at her with a mixing sense of surprise, relief and joy on his face. He had expected her usual response; a mixture of insensitive remarks, followed by a stern face and telling him to just 'suck it up' and move on. Instead, here she was, trying to restrain herself from making such inconsiderate, if not just rude remarks, and just have an actual conversation with him, trying to see his side of this.

That is exactly what Helga was trying to do. She wanted to avoid repeating some of the mistakes that she had committed when she was with Arnold. One of them was her stubborn disdain for people who whimpered or coward in front of barriers or adversities, especially non-threatening ones in their lives, thereby ridiculing them without considering their feelings about those matters or topics. Although this was not a common occurrence, it was enough to force Arnold to intervene, disapprove of her behaviour and attempt to convince Helga to see their point of view, a factor that sometimes resulted in them butting heads. She knew this resulted from her unwillingness to see how other people might be feeling. Her usual tendency was to just toughen it out and anyone who did otherwise, she viewed them essentially as weak. Yet with time and patience, Arnold was able to turn Helga around and got her to see the need to be more considerate of other people's feelings. Arnold had to consistently explain to her that people are very different from each other, with various degrees of strengths and weaknesses. A person whimpering or cowering did not mean an overall sign of weakness, but as a sign of an inability to deal with it. Arnold explained that instead of ridiculing them, she should instead help them achieve that skill that they lack so they can actually deal with the issue.

This was a key lesson that Helga never forgot, although the lesson was a two-way process. Arnold in turn, learned that at times it was necessary for someone to be tough on the person who was cowering away at a barrier or challenge. Like Arnold, Helga had to consistently explain to him that sometimes being considerate and nice were not enough. Sometimes a good kicking in the butt and a scoff were needed in order to instill the necessary level of determination and will to overcome it.

Rodrigo anxiously looked on, hoping Helga would be able to calm down enough so they can talk instead of argue. He didn't have to wait long. Soon enough, Helga turned around again.

"Ok, let me get this straight." She began calmly. "You feel bad over a break up that you didn't make, but feel you aggravated it by going out with me?" she asked him.

Rodrigo nodded.

"That's sweet of you." She said to him. "Stupid, but sweet."

Helga then just sighed at this whole situation. As much as she felt exasperated by Rodrigo's seemingly selfless guilt, she couldn't really be that mad at him, especially if this had also been bothering her.

"I have a confession to make." She said rather nervously. "You weren't the only one who has been thinking about this."

When Rodrigo said nothing, she continued.

"For the past two weeks, I have been having these dreams about Arnold. They are romantic dreams; dreams of him and I getting together or being together. I'm not sure what the status is with us in my dream, but when I am in them, it is irrelevant."

Rodrigo took a took big gulp when he heard this, almost as if he was swallowing not just his pride, but his heart. Yet, he remained silent and allowed Helga to continue.

"These dreams aren't new. I've always had them. When we got together, they kind of disappeared and I was happy, thinking that I finally got rid of them and that I was getting over Arnold.'"

Helga then stopped and looked toward her side, almost shamefully and sadly, at the park. What she had to say next, she was finding it hard to say and was scared as to how Rodrigo would react. After a few moments, she turned back to face him.

"The man of my dreams, the man whom I always thought I would end up getting married to and have a future with, was Arnold. So, I would be lying if I said that I don't think about him still. My only reassurance about us is that those thoughts have lessened a lot since we started dating. Before, I used to think about him every, single, day. Now, it's very now and then, but I still think about him."

"So...where does this leave us?" Rodrigo asked. "Should we even continue this relationship?"

"For me, I just need more time to get over him." She said, trying to reassure him. "I know it may take awhile, but I am confident that I can break it. If I wasn't so sure, I never would have told you that I like you. Never. I didn't get into this relationship because this was a 'second choice'. I got into it because you mean something to me, something very important, someone whom I want to be with, so much so that I said no to the man of my dreams when he offered to get back together with me. I can't really explain why I did it. I still don't know what compelled me to say no to Arnold and be with you. All I know is that I want to be with you and since we have been dating, I have been really happy in this relationship, even thought I may not act like it." She continued with a small smile.

"I'll admit," She continued, "I don't really know either where this relationship going. I don't know if it will last. Heck, I don't even know if this whole thing is perfectly normal or messed up. The only thing that I do know is that I don't want to end this. I want to be with you. Whatever it is that we have, I want it to last."

"I know this may not be what you wanted to hear," she told him. "so I would understand if you want to end things with me..."

"What did you mean when you said that I was sweet?" He asked her, intentionally interrupting her from finishing that sentence.

"The way you feel about all of this; the guilt. You want to be happy, but you don't want it to come at the expense of others." She answered him. "It just shows what a good person you are. You care about others. And as far as I am concerned, that is further proof that I made the right decision."

"I used to believe in destiny." She continued. "I strongly believed that I was destined to one day be with Arnold; that whatever crap was I going through in my life, in the end, that is the one thing that I thought for sure was going to happen. I thought everything pinpointed to that. Now I realize that this world is fully chaotic with a lot of ups and downs and despite what you may think, there is no order in this universe, at least not in the way that we think it is. I never thought in a million years that I would ever fall for someone else. Had someone even mentioned that to me as a possibility just a year ago, I would have scoffed at them and laughed. Things have a way of turning out good in the end and being you is one of those good things." She said with a smile on her face.

Rodrigo smiled back and said, "Thanks Helga for the wise words."

"Don't mention it." She said. "So um, what do you want to do about this, about 'us'?" She nervously asked him.

Rodrigo just continued to smile at her, gently grabbed Helga's hand, leaned in closer to her and said, "I want to continue 'this'." And planted a soft kiss on her lips, much to Helga's delight and relief. Rodrigo then started moving away, but Helga immediately grabbed him and pushed him towards her again, continuing on kissing him.

After a few moments, the two teens then let go of each other.

"Feeling better?" She asked him.

"Ya. You?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I am now." She said.

The two teens than started making their way back towards the bus lane to go home.

"But seriously, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself." She said to him. "That ain't cool."

"I won't anymore, Helga." He said.


	10. Chapter 10 - Meeting the Castiles Part 1

It was a spring evening on a typical weekday. Rodrigo was at home having dinner with his family. It was nothing unusual. Despite being in his teens with his various interests occupying him, Rodrigo always tried to still dine with his parents whenever he could. He enjoyed these moments; taking the time to converse with this parents about their day or about certain events happening in the country or around the world. Every time he sat down with them and talked, he felt a bit closer to them as he got to know a bit more about them. They in turn felt the same. Despite being highly educated, they were never shy to admit that there was always something to learn, both from those younger than them and the modern times with different viewpoints and outlook on life.

On this particular day, the Castiles were just dining relatively quietly, enjoying their meal and each other's company when Rodrigo father, Alfonso, suddenly said,

"¿Rodrigo, como va todo con Helga?" (Rodrigo, how are things with Helga?)

"Todo va bien, papa." Rodrigo responded. "Las cosas siguen adelante, mejor que yo anticipe." (Everything is going well, dad. Things are moving forward, better than I anticipated)

"¿Me imagino que las cosas se están poniendo serio?" (I imagine things are getting serious?) Alfonso asked.

"Pues, creo que si." Rodrigo responded. "Aun no hemos hablado de un futuro. Por ahora, estamos enfocados en el presente. Todavía todo esto es nuevo y no nos queremos apurar las cosas." ( I think so. We haven't yet talked about the future. For now, we are just focusing on the present. Everything is still new to us and we don't want to rush things.)

"Bueno, me alegro de eso," Alfonso said. "porque tu mama y yo queremos a conocer tu novia. Ustedes han estado juntos por unos meses ya, y como tú ya tuviste la oportunidad a conocer la familia de Helga, creo ya es tiempo que ella conoce a tu familia, no?" (Well, I'm glad to hear that because your mom and I would like to meet Helga. You two have been together for some months now and you even had the opportunity to meet her family, so I think it's time that she meets your family, no?)

"Si papa." (Yes papa.) Rodrigo said a bit nervously. "Pero, no piensas que todavía es un poco temprano en traer mi novia a nuestra casa?" (But, don't you think it's a bit too early to bring my girlfriend over to our house?)

"No, no creo," Alfonso responded. "especialmente si tus padres están ofreciendo la invitación. Además, no es como somos totalmente extraños. Yo ya me presente a ella cuando vino a la casa unos meses antes. Falta solamente que ella conoce a tu mama." (No, I don't think so, especially if your parents are inviting her. Besides, it's not like we are total strangers. I already introduced myself to her a few months back. Only your mother needs to be introduced to her.)

"Pues si, pero tan temprano? Ni paso cuatro meses." (Well ya, but so soon? It hasn't even been four months yet.) Rodrigo said, protesting a bit.

"Oh, no te preocupes, Rodrigo. No es nada formal. Solamente queremos cenar y hablar con ella, eso es todo. No es nada más extraño que con las otras ocasiones cuando tus amigos se quedaron a cenar." (Oh, don't worry Rodrigo. It's nothing formal. We only want to dine and talk to her, that's it. It's not any different than the times when your friends stayed over for dinner). Alfonso assured his son.

However, Alfonso then gave Rodrigo a suspicious look.

"¿Por qué protestas?" (Why are you protesting?) He asked Rodrigo. "¿Está embarazada?" (Is she pregnant?) He asked with a worried tone.

"¡Papa! Que...como...estás loco?! No!" (Dad! What...how... are you crazy?! No!) A horrified Rodrigo exclaimed.

"Ok, ok, pregunte, no más. ¿Entonces, porque no invitas a Helga a venir en nuestra casa este sábado que viene?" Alfonso offered. (Ok, ok, I was only asking. Well, why don't you invite Helga to come over this Saturday coming?)

Rodrigo said nothing, as he was now deep in thought about his parents wanting to meet Helga. There was just a lot of things on his mind about this inevitable encounter and Rodrigo couldn't help but feel a bit..angsty about it.

"Rodrigo? Hijo!" Alfonso exclaimed.

"Huh? Que? Si papa?" Rodrigo finally responded and snapped out of his thoughts.

"¿Oíste lo que dije?" (Did you hear what I just said?) His father asked.

"Si, si. Le preguntare mañana." (Ok. I'll ask her tomorrow.) The son responded.

_Thought, I'm still not really sure about this..._He thought.

**The next day...at lunchtime...**

Rodrigo walked towards Helga's locker, who was already there waiting for him. Phoebe had already left to see Gerald and so the blonde girl was alone. Rodrigo actually made it on time, as he didn't want Helga to linger there for too long and end up upsetting her. That's the last thing that he needed before he tells her the news.

"Hey." Rodrigo said as he approached.

"Good, you're on time." She said.

Rodrigo leaned in and gave Helga a small kiss on her lips before than making their way towards the lunchroom. While walking, Rodrigo proceeded to tell her about his parents' invitation.

"So uh, I've got some news." He said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"My parents want to meet you." He said.

Helga instantly stopped walking and gave Rodrigo a stunned look.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I said, my parents would like to meet you." He said again. "They want to know if you are free to come over this Saturday evening."

"Crimeny, what is it with parents in wanting to meet their kids' significant other so soon?" Helga said annoyingly as she started walking again.

"My point exactly, but they felt that since I already met your family, they figured they should also meet you. I protested, but it's also inevitable."

"I guess..."Helga said rather softly.

"So, you free to come over this Saturday evening?"

"Ya, I guess I am. What time?" She said.

"6pm works for you?" He asked.

"Ya, it does. Just so you know, I'm planning on actually being there at 6pm." She said.

"Don't worry. My parents only run on Latino time with other Latinos." Rodrigo said with a bit of a chuckle.

The two teens then continued walking silently, both being in deep thought about Rodrigo's parents' invitation to meet Helga and both were...quite nervous.

"If you can describe your parents in two words, what would they be?" She suddenly asked.

"Loving, but strict." He responded.

"That's three words doofus." She said.

"You know what I mean." He countered. " My parents never hesitated to show me all the love and attention that I sought. However, just as equally, they are also strict and did not hesitate to ground me if it called for it. They can be a bit formal and old fashion over some things."

"Oh joy." Helga said sarcastically.

"I was always taught to respect your elders and address them as 'sir' or 'madam', as well proper etiquette." Rodrigo continued. "I couldn't really do some things without their permission or at least notify them first. Even when I wanted to invite my friends over, I had to ask their permission first."

"Sounds like they are a bit of control freaks." She remarked.

"A lot people thought so, but they just wanted to make sure that I grew up with morals and good manners, as well ensure that I was safe. They told me that themselves, even telling me that it is exhausting in trying to teach me all of this, but they were willing to go through with that just so I can have fun, be respectful and safe."

"That sounds...nice actually." Helga said a bit sadly, remembering her own upbringing in comparison with his. "They must really love you." She commented

"Yeah, they do." Rodrigo said nonchalantly, trying not to make that a big deal, even though it was for Helga.

"Just how strict are they?" She asked.

"Well, one time I invited a friend over and when my dad came to the room, my friend addressed him informally by his first name. My dad didn't take that kindly and scoffed at my friend for not respecting his elders and gave him a lecture to always address him properly, in front of me. My friend never wanted to go inside my house again after that."

"Ugh great." She remarked.

Rodrigo's and Helga's nervousness were not unfounded. Both understood the dilemma that Helga now found herself in with Rodrigo's parents and things didn't seem to stack well into her favour. Essentially, Helga's untraditional, unlady-like and highly independent personality may conflict with Rodrigo's parents' strict and formal nature. Helga was not at all comfortable on how formal Rodrigo's family were. Apart from the fact that she was never used to it, she didn't fit as the formal type. She also viewed such behaviour as being seriously uptight and by her point of view, unnecessary.

Rodrigo for his part knew this full well, but was really hesitating if he should tell Helga at all if she could perhaps...lessen that assertive and independent side of her personality. Apart from the fact that he didn't want to indicate that his parents would not approve of the real Helga, he didn't want to force her to become someone she wasn't. He knew that if he did that, he might as well break up with her right then and now, as Helga would never change herself unless she decided to. Plus, it would be just one big lie for everyone.

"Alright, I'll level with you, Latino boy." Helga suddenly said. "I'll 'try' to act a bit lady-like this Saturday, just so I can impress them."

"Um well...thanks Helga. I appreciate that." He said.

"You better." She said to him firmly. "And I'm not wearing a dress for the occasion."

"Don't worry. You won't have to." Rodrigo responded. "It's not that of a formal meeting."

As the two teens continued to walk, both pondered over another factor that was bothering both of them, and it was a crucial one. Arnold's parents have always been very accepting of Helga and her personality. Despite her tough exterior and cynical remarks, they usually allowed her to be herself, with little of any disapproving remark or gestures. This made Helga feel comfortable at the Sunset Arms, considering it one of the few sanctuaries where she can go and be herself, while not feeing bound by societal pressures to act otherwise. However, Helga and Rodrigo also knew that there was perhaps an ulterior motive as to why Miles and Stella were always so accommodating, even going beyond their limits, although how much did it influence them, they were not so sure. Miles and Stella both owed Helga an eternal gratitude for playing _the_ key role, literally, in unlocking the cure that awoke them from the sleeping sickness, thereby reuniting them with Arnold. Her role not only revealed to Arnold and his parents, Helga's good and caring nature, it also gave Helga an advantage over other potential daughter-in-laws, ensuring that she would be on her potential parent-in-laws' good side. Although tempted on several occasions to take advantage of her 'elevated' disposition, Helga reframed from ever doing so at their expense. Unlike her parents, she came to view them as worthy of her attention, respect and even...love, coming to see Miles and Stella as eventual parental substitutes.

On the flip side, Rodrigo's parents had no such gratitude, nor any obligation to go to any serious lengths to accommodate her. There was no leverage that Helga could use to ease her way into his family's good side. She knew that in this case, Helga had to earn their respect and approval, which therein laid the problem. She had no idea on how she was going to achieve that. Well, not yet anyways.

Rodrigo was also fully aware of this and had a more realistic view on how this was going to turn out. Apart from Helga's tough exterior and assertive personality, there was also her unstable family life. Rodrigo was not sure how his parents would take it. Rodrigo was well aware that bringing someone like Helga to meet your parents could cause them to be concerned for their son, as any parent would. Although he had told his parents that Helga has gone through some tough times and even gave some detail on how bad she took it when Arnold left, he never went into serious details about her personal life, for fear that Helga would either kill him or his parents would completely disapprove of her. Because of these, he wasn't expecting his parents to be as accepting as Arnold's parents were, not by a long shot. He figured that if Helga can somehow pull this off and just get his parents to approve of her, he would be more than happy with just that. He wasn't expecting them to like her, nor was he expecting them to be close to her. He just wanted them to get along sufficiently enough for them to give him the thumbs up. Although it saddened him a bit that Helga would not really be as closer as she was with Arnold's parents, the approval was all he really wanted...no, needed.

There was also something else in mind. Regardless of how things will turn out between Helga and his own parents, Rodrigo wanted to ensure that Helga would not lose the close and emotional bond that she had developed with Arnold's grandparents, parents and the Sunset residents. They were the only people that ever demonstrated any concern and care toward Helga and Rodrigo did not want her to lose them. As far as he was concerned, they would always be her family.

There was a lot of take in for both teens and as much as they both tried to convince themselves that they were simply over thinking this, deep down both knew that there was a lot at stake. Nevertheless, despite their reservations, they braced for the inevitable. But first, they were now going to sit down and eat. Can't think on an empty stomach.

**Saturday evening...**

Helga made her way down the street that led to Rodrigo's house. Although it seemed like a typical walk, Helga felt she was walking into an abyss, a dark hole from which she herself didn't think she could ever get out. Ok, that may have been a little dramatic, but Helga was feeling rather uncomfortable. There was just so many questions, so many ifs and buts that could come out from this and she had very little control over them. Most of all, she was uncomfortable about how meeting Rodrigo's parents meant to her; their relationship was still moving forward, which meant that things were now getting serious.

Slowly but surely, Helga was feeling the pressure of having to slowly let go of a life with Arnold and now begin to embrace a new life with Rodrigo and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Frankly, she felt conflicted.

_On the one hand, I feel happy_ _that things are going well between us._ She thought with a bit of a smile. _I mean, I want things to move forward. Of that, I'm sure. It's just that...in order to do that, I have to push aside any possible fantasy of me and Arnold...having a life together. It's now over and done with..._

Helga stopped walking and looked down onto the ground with her usual stern face as she thought about that; there's now no possibility of her ever being with Arnold. It's over, it'd done...

Helga still had a hard time admitting this and despite it all, she felt herself still resisting to this apparent revelation. The thought of her completely losing all hope of her ever getting together her, even in her fantasy, was slowly being taken away from her by the grim facts of reality...and she wasn't taking it well. Like always, she felt anger starting to circulate, confounding her mood.

_No, no! I can't think about this right now!_ She thought. _I'm on my way to meeting Rodrigo's parents. I can't go there while feeling all angry and irritated like this. Crimeny, what would they think of me?!_

Helga immediately pushed such thoughts that soured her mood aside and just focused on the task at hand; to impress Rodrigo's parents. This is what she needed to do and she would not deviate it from it; this was too important for her to mess up.

Finally, after some more walking, Helga made it to Rodrigo's house. Bracing for the inevitable, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

_Well, here goes nothing._ She thought.

The door swung opened. It was too late to back out now.

"Hi Helga." Rodrigo said.

"Hey Latino boy, you looking sharp today." She said with a smile.

"Oh thanks." He said as he moved aside to allow her to come in. "You look really beautiful." He said rather nervously.

"Thanks." She said.

Helga wore a nicely thin pink sweater, the necklace that Rodrigo have given her, with blue jeans and her usual shoes. Much to Rodrigo's surprise, she also wore two earrings, a feature that Olga insisted that she should wear, much to Helga's chagrin, but no make-up.

"You saying that I'm not beautiful the rest of the times?" She asked with a suspicious look.

"You're always beautiful, Helga. You are just more beautiful today than other times." He responded confidently.

"Good save." She said.

Just then, Rodrigo's parents came and Rodrigo instantly became nervous. He knew that he had no control over this. It was all up to Helga, which didn't help his situation.

"Helga, pleasure to see you again." Alfonso said with a smile and extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Mr. Castile." She said nervously and with a smile that she tried to make it look as genuine as possible and shook his hand.

"This my wife, Elisa." He introduced her.

"Hello Helga. It is great to finally meet you." She said with a smile and also extended her.

"The...pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Castile." Helga said through her teeth as she shook her hand.

Both Alfonso and Elisa were in their very late 40's but still looked rather young. Alfonso had dark black hair, like Rodrigo, but with a moustache. Elisa also had black hair, but was very long and went down to her upper back. It was thick and wavy, but not curly. Both had the same skin colour as Rodrigo. Both adults were a bit taller than the two teens and could be mistaken for young adults or even teens themselves, a fact that both adults took as compliments. Helga could easily tell where Rodrigo got his good looks; from both his parents. Elisa especially looked beautiful. With almost no wrinkles, she looked like still had a lot of energy and charisma, although she was soft spoken, but had the confidence that indicated to everyone that she was no pushover.

Alfonso was more quiet, if not introverted. He rarely spoke unless spoken to, or if the need arose. Yet, when he did speak, his words were often of extreme wisdom and clarity, a fact that prompted many of his colleagues and strangers to glance at him with awe. Yet, he never let his ego get the better of him and would never shy away from admitting his mistakes or if he simply didn't know something.

Rodrigo meanwhile became more nervous with each passing second. As the introductions were going on, he started to breath heavily and fidgeted with his hands.

"Please come in." Alfonso said as he gestured with his hand towards his house.

Helga said nothing and just smiled as she started walking inside.

_Man, I could really use a drink right now._ She jokingly thought.

Alfonso led them to the dining room where a whole meal was prepared for them. As expected, it was a traditional Latin American meal, with dishes coming from the diverse array of cuisine throughout the continent, making it impossible for Helga to figure out which country Rodrigo and his family originated from.

"Please help yourselves and take a seat." Alfonso said. "We just have to take out the last dishes."

Alfonso and Elisa then went back to the kitchen, leaving the two teens momentarily alone. Meanwhile Rodrigo was continuing to act around nervously, fidgeting his hands and breathing heavily.

"Will you stop acting so nervous?" She suddenly and sternly whispered to him.

"Sorry Helga, I can't help it." Rodrigo whispered back.

"Well, help it. Geez, you're making me nervous than I already am!" She whispered back to him.

Just then, the two adults came back with a dish and a bottle of wine, prompting Helga to immediately put her smile back on her face.

"Wow um...this all looks so great and delicious." She nervously said to them.

"Why thank you, dear." Elisa said with a smile.

Despite her nervousness, Helga wasn't lying when she said that. The second she entered the house, she could instantly smell the aroma of fine food readied for them to devour. Her mouth had immediately began to water before she even started walking towards the dining room.

"Well, please dig in." Alfonso said as they both sat down.

Helga nervously looked at her plate and saw that there were various utensils on both sides of her plate. She instantly realized that the dinner was going to be a bit more formal than she was told. Wanting to make an impression, she took a deep breath and courteously grabbed a fork and knife and began to etiquettely eat.

While eating, the parents soon started making conversation and Helga participated as formally and courteously as possible. She ensured that her passionate side was kept in check and carefully orchestrating her words, ensuring that every word was politely, and almost poetically, spoken. While Rodrigo noticed this change, his parents apparently did not and continued on with the conversation, much to his relief. Whatever she was doing, it seemed to be working. Then, after some more minutes, the real test began...

"So Helga, Rodrigo has told us that you have an eye for the arts and social sciences?" Elisa asked.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say the arts, really." Helga said with a nervous chuckle. "I'm mostly just into poetry. Sometimes painting. Nothing biggie. But I am interesting in involving myself in the social science, specifically in sociology or psychology."

"Any ideas on what particular field you would be interested?" Alfonso asked.

"Any field in either of the social sciences that would allow me to utilize poetry and arts." She instantly responded. "Over the years I've used poetry to...deal with some issues and it allowed me find things about myself. So I just put two and two together and figured that if the arts can help me, I can use it to help others."

"That's very noble of you, Helga." Elisa said rather impressively.

"Indeed, a mighty and worthy cause." Alfonso said

"Pfft, tell that to the government and its support for this 'noble' cause." Helga said, almost dismissively, while she rolled her eyes. "I'll be lucky if I ever manage to hold down a job with those qualifications and it'll probably be a dead-end job." She continued, not yet noticing the raised eyebrow look that Rodrigo's parents were giving her. Rodrigo said nothing and just nervously gulped and...prayed.

"I mean umm, thank you Mr. Mrs Castile, hehehe." Helga quickly rephrased her sentence nervously, fully remembering just whom she was talking to. "It'll take some work, but I'm positive that I'll achieve success in this field, hehehe."

_Nice going Helga!_ She thought to herself. _You only started talking to them for about a minute and already they must think you're a cynical, poverty-stricken bum._

Rodrigo's parents continued to look at her with both suspicion and confusion at Helga's sudden change in tone and attitude, but both decided to let it go...for now.

"I assume that you have certain poets whom you admire?" Alfonso asked.

"Yup. Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, Pablo Neruda, Oscar Wilde, Sappho, Elizabeth Browning and a few other ones somewhere." She responded. "And that's only poets. Don't even get me started with writers."

"Well, that's really impressive Helga." Elisa commented.

"And what about any poets that you don't like?" Alfonso asked curiously.

"William McGonagall..." Helga said softly but angrily. "I swear if there was ever a person that deserved the title of 'worst poet ever', it would be that Scotsman! What person within their right mind would ever write a phase as hideous as, 'the hen it is a useful beast, and struts about the yard also; It sometimes lays an egg or two, or three or four or more or so'." She continued mockingly. "It doesn't rhythm! The man had no scanning ability, let alone a good vocabulary to utilize. An absolute fraud, I tell you!" She exclaimed angrily, making everyone just stare at her with a surprising look on their faces.

"I mean um, I am highly critical of people who make a mockery out of an old and highly respectable profession." She completely re-phrased herself courteously and then nervously continued eating her dinner.

By now it was becoming clear to both parents that something was a bit off with Helga. They realized that her attempts to be highly courteous and 'lady-like' was not really what it seemed. It was either fake, or at the very least, was used as a cover-up to hide something else about her, something that she did not wish for them to see.

Alfonso was especially in deep thought about that, as he glanced at the two pigtail blonde girl that sat beside his son. He wasn't thrilled that Helga was going to great lengths to hide something about herself that will sooner or later be known them. No person can keep up with that charade for long. It made him feel not only awkward but also guilty, as he felt that she was not comfortable in his own house and as the host, that fell on him. Yet, he already knew why she was doing it; she wanted to get their approval. That much was obvious. What was really interesting him was how to get her to relax and be more comfortable in order to be herself. He wasn't going to just tell her to do that. No, he knew that she needed proof from them that they can be trusted in order for her to be herself. They needed to earn her trust. Luckily for Alfonso, he had personal experience in dealing with people like Helga and after some thought, knew just how to go about doing that.

"'Highly critical' is a bit too formal to do justice with what McGonagall tried to do. You don't need to hide your distaste of him. He really sucked." Alfonso said with a smile, prompting everyone to look him with a bit of a surprising look.

"I mean seriously, you would think that any poet, or any artist for that matter, would learn from past works of art and even take in consideration what some of his critics said of his work." He continued with a bit of a chuckle. "But that nimrod just did whatever his little heart desired, not taking into account in putting any structural sense into his work."

"Exactly!" Helga exclaimed happily. "Finally, someone who understand me!"

Both Elisa and especially Rodrigo said nothing and just started at Alfonso with wide eyes, shocked at what they were seeing.

"Rodrigo here thinks that I'm being too critical of him." Helga continued, oblivious to the shocking look Elisa and Rodrigo were giving Alfonso. "He thinks that I'm not taking into account a possible 'mental condition' that he may have had."

"Well, there was a book written about him by Norman Watson that said that McGonagall may have had some form of autism." Rodrigo explained, briefly recuperating his confidence. "I agree that his poems are terrible, but considering his behaviour and inability to take any advice to improve his poems, you don't need to go to overkill if the guy really is…"

"That still doesn't excuse him for making such deplorable poems!" Helga sharply exclaimed, interrupting him. "Other people have mental illnesses and they still managed to succeed. He was autistic, not retarded. He should have in some ways or form listened to at least one of those critics or recommendations from other poets. If he can't deal the criticisms, then he shouldn't be in the business. Besides, it's not like he minds my critique anyways."

"You ma'am, are one harsh critic." Alfonso said with a smile. "I wouldn't want to be in your reviews."

"Oh er, umm…thanks?" Helga said rather nervously and confusingly, not really sure what to make of Alfonso's comment.

"You should be. It was a compliment." He said, taking notice of her confusion. "You're harsh, but direct and honest. Any artist reading your reviews about their work should appreciate your straightforwardness. You give clear indication of where their strengths' lie, as well as their weakness. If they wish to improve on anything, they should heed to your opinion."

"See?" Helga said to Rodrigo with a triumphant smile. "Your dad agrees with my criticism."

"Ever considered in writing reviews about other people's work?" Elisa asked.

"I have. I'm currently enrolled at our school's poetry club and they've asked me to write some reviews and/or give opinions about some of our member's work." Helga responded.

"And how has that been working out for you?" Alfonso asked.

"So far, good." Helga responded. "Surprisingly, people there appreciate my straightforward reviews, so much so that the President there decided to name me as the chief critic for any poems that gets circulated within our club, or if any of them wish to get it published at the school's newspaper and want someone to edit their work."

"Congratulations! That's wonderful dear!" Elisa said with a smile. "You should be proud."

"Thanks Mrs. Castile." Helga said.

"Indeed. A toast to the school's new chief editor and critic." Alfonso said as he raised his glass to do a toast.

"Salud!" Everyone said.

As the evening continued on, Rodrigo slowly came to the realization that his nervousness was unfound. Helga had seemed to impress his folks, as it was becoming apparent that they were taking a liking to her. Alfonso especially was becoming very fond of Helga. Admiring her blunt and direct approach to being honest, Alfonso became much more relaxed, dropping any formalities and soon began to converse with Helga almost as if they were buddies. Alfonso would not even hesitate to use certain slang from both his times and the two teens' times, surprising them that he even knew them. Elisa was also impressed with Helga's strong and direct personality and became relaxed and just enjoyed her company. Yet even with that, Rodrigo still felt a bit unnerved, feeling that any moment his parents would see something about Helga that they did not like.

Moreover, he felt uneased at just how informal and relaxed his father had become throughout the evening. Out of all the years that he had known him, which was practically his whole life, he had never seen his dad like this, not even with his few friends. Even Elisa noticed the sudden change in him and although it wasn't such an extreme change, it was nevertheless noticeable. Alfonso was not ignorant of Rodrigo's stare and as the evening wore on, he realized he needed to say something.

"Rodrigo, hijo, you've been awfully quiet lately." Alfonso commented. "Everything alright?"

"Yea dad, everything is good." Rodrigo responded. "It's just that, I've never seen you this...informal before."

"It's true." Alfonso said with a bit of a chuckle as he looked at Helga. "Even before Rodrigo was born, I've always been a stoic type of person. Very serious, who usually didn't smile, let alone laugh."

"Well that's kind of a downer." Helga said. "How come?" She asked.

"I just didn't have a reason to smile, or tell jokes." He said. "I don't smile just because people expect you to. I do it because something actually makes me want to smile, or tell jokes."

"I hear you loud and clear on that." Helga said. "People always assumed that I'm a very serious, cold blonde girl roaming around school who never even cracks a smile. Heck, even Rodrigo here thought that...when he first met me, at least. I take it nothing really made you change?"

"Oh I wouldn't say that." Alfonso said. "There was one event that made me a bit more...relaxed."

"Which is...?" Helga asked.

"It was when I met my wife." He said. "Actually, you remind me a lot of her; back when I first met her."

"Really? How so?" Helga asked, being rather intrigued about it.

"It was about twenty-two years ago. We are at this local bar party, but we went there separately with our friends. We didn't know each other until that night. So after a while of some dancing and drinking, I was walking around the bar when I first saw Elisa. She was wearing this beautiful white dress and given the heat on that night, it was sleeveless and was a bit short, but not too much. Anyways, the first time I saw her, I was blown away. I just starting at her for a little while, being a bit mesmerized by her beauty."

"Oh stop it Alfonso." Elisa suddenly interjected, trying not blushing. "Don't exaggerate please."

"No, no, I'm telling the truth." Alfonso said. "I was actually so captivated that I was unable to even approach her. The reason? I was too shy, almost scared really, even though she wasn't really doing anything. I don't think she even saw me."

"Oh ya, I hear ya on that one." Helga said as she took a sip from her glass. "I'm rather surprised you even confessed to that."

"Well, I don't think there's anything wrong in admitting that you were shy or scared to approach someone you liked. It's happened even to the most confident, extroverted people." Alfonso said. "So why not just admit it to everyone and to yourself. There's no reason in hiding it."

Helga said nothing and almost slumped a bit down in shame, remembering the huge fear she had if Arnold ever found out her love for him. Despite how aggressive, confident, outspoken she was, she was almost never able to gather enough strength to admit to him her feelings for him. She just barely managed to do it twice, much to her own surprise and predictably, both times Arnold shied away from it. It was only after going through a treacherous course of trying to get the corazon, risking her life for him, that Arnold finally saw the type of person that she really was and what her confession actually meant to him.

"So I just stood there like an idiot, just staring at her." Alfonso continued. "Her friends were out dancing and for some reason she was standing at the side on her own. With her friends out of the way, I knew it was the perfect time to approach her and ask her to dance, but I was unable to. Then, a man approached her and asked her to dance with him. Naturally I was furious with myself because I thought I lost my chance, but I saw that she politely refused to dance with him. However, the man would not take no for an answer and insisted that they should dance. Again Elisa said no. Although I couldn't hear what she actually said to him, I could tell that it was a rather serious warning, given her facial expression. What did you say to that guy, Elisa?"

"After the second time, I told him that I wasn't interested and to get lost." She said triumphantly while sipping on some wine.

Helga just smiled at Elisa, a bit impressed that she would have the tenacity to say something like that.

"After that, she began to walk away." Alfonso continued. "Incredibly, the guy still refused to take 'no' for an answer and grabbed her by her arm in order to get her to stop. Did he grab you forcefully?"

"No." Elisa responded.

"What did you do?" Helga asked.

"Not like to being touched, unless I say so, I just turned around and punched him in the face and warned him that the next time he touches me, he will lose a piece of his manhood." Elisa said confidently.

"Ha!" Helga exclaimed happily as she applauded. "Good for you Elis...I mean Mrs. Castile. Much respect! I actually pity the poor sucker for ever trying to have his way with you like that. The nerve of him."

"Thank you, dear." Elisa said with a smile.

"Like you Helga, I was rather impressed by that. I knew that this was a woman that was highly independent and confident. Well that was all well and good, but the guy was obviously furious and starting stomping towards her, ready to start a brawl with her. I didn't what came over me, but I instinctively ran up to them and just in the nick of time, approached Elisa and posed as her boyfriend."

"Oh no you did not!" Helga said with a surprising tone in her voice. "Did that actually work?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Alfonso said. "I just said to my 'girlfriend' that I was sorry for coming late to the party, I just had some work finish at the office. I then waited to see if she would take the hint and play along. After a few seconds, she realized what happened and saw that the guy would have done something to her if I had not intervened and began to play along, much to my relief. I thought she was going to punch me as well. Thankfully, the guy finally admitted defeated and reluctantly walked away."

"Well I'll be." Helga said looking at Rodrigo's parents with an impressed and surprising look. "Mrs. Castile, you sly dog you."

"No, No that wasn't the end of it." Alfonso said. "Elisa wasn't really thrilled that I came in to 'save her' and began to chastise me for it. She told me that caught on to my ploy and said that I only came to her 'rescue' because I wanted to talk to her."

"Well, I didn't really know what to say to her. I wasn't really expecting her to be upset with me, so I just did the mostly logical thing; I told her that she was right."

"Really?" Helga asked.

"Yup. I told her that I knew that she had everything under control and there was no need for me to 'save her', so I just used her little scuffle as an opportunity to talk to her. Naturally that caught her off guard a bit because she wasn't expecting me to be so upfront with her. I told her that I would have approached her sooner, had I not been so shy, thereby preventing the guy from ever approaching her. I told her that in order to amend my failures, I asked her if I could have this dance with her. Again, to my surprise, she said no, but then said that I can buy her a drink instead. That drink turned out to be one long conversation. We didn't leave that party until 2 a.m. but I managed to convince her to see me the next day, which we did and the rest is history."

Rodrigo had already learned about the story of how they met years before, yet it still surprised him at just how different his mom was when she was younger with how she was now that she is older. Indeed, Elisa by now had largely abandoned her tough personality and had become more calm, sweet. However, she still had a quite a temper, as Rodrigo fully remembered the times when he upset his mother.

"So just how much has Mrs. Castile got you to be more relaxed and less stiff?" Helga asked.

"He would tell you not by much, I know that he changed considerably." Elisa quickly responded. "When he first met him, he was very stiff, formal and inflexible with sudden change. But over the years, he slowly began to relax a bit, enjoyed more of the sudden and unpredictability of life and just...enjoy. He still has his own strict rules, etiquette and code of conduct, but when compared to how he was before, it's a big a difference."

"But that change is mutual." Alfonso then intervened. "Elisa used to be a lot more...assertive and outspoken than how she is now. Back then, it was impossible to argue with her, mostly because she was often right, but also because she almost always wanted to have the final say."

"We had two extreme personalities, you'd might say." Alfonso said. "But as time went on, we continued working on it and slowly but surely, our personalities, instead of conflicting, became more...compatible with each other."

"And we are still learning." Elisa continued on. "So don't you two think that this tug and pull session will ever end. It doesn't, but it does get easier."

Rodrigo said nothing and just silently acknowledged his parents' wisdom. Helga was able to easily relate to their experience, but reframed from saying anything about it since she was not thinking at all about her relationship with Rodrigo.

Helga stayed at the Castiles house for a little while longer, but eventually it became time for her to leave. She thanked them for their invitation and hospitality and thanked them again for the hundredths time for the wonderful food. Rodrigo's parents wondered by Helga was so thankful for the dinner, but they just thought she enjoyed it. Unbeknownst to everyone, Helga's family never got around to preparing a meal on that day. With Miriam still attending her AA meetings and running errands all day and Olga and Bob working, no one had bothered to even warn Helga that there was no food for her. With her mom haven't yet gone grocery shopping, there was almost nothing in the house for Helga to cook or make. She had to scramble whatever was available and use her creativity to make a small sandwich for lunch. It was just another reminder of how much of a ghost she felt with her family. She was thankful that out of all the days that her family forget to feed her yet again, it was on the same day when she was going to meet Rodrigo's parents for dinner.

_At least they had the courtesy to make a good meal for me._ She thought.

Rodrigo opted to walk Helga home. As the two teens left, Rodrigo now had the chance to speak to Helga about how she felt about his family.

"So what'd you think?" He asked.

"I actually had a fun time." Helga said. "Man, I thought it was going to be like pulling your teeth out, but they turned out to be cool people to hang out with. And they are not as strict as you made it seem."

"Oh they are. They just didn't show it tonight." Rodrigo said.

"Well whatever the case, it seems that I made an impression on your parents." She said. "See, what did I tell ya? And you were nervous for no reason." She continued as she gave him a gentle punch to his shoulder.

"Ya, you're right. I got anxious over nothing." He said.

"You did." She said happily. "Well, big success tonight Latino boy. It looks like things will be smooth sailing from here on in."

**Next weekend..**

It was almost mid-afternoon and Rodrigo was at home, relaxing and watching TV. He had finished talking to Helga that morning, who then had to go and do chores and run errands. Gerald had earlier stated they can meet up later that evening and hang out, but nothing was yet confirmed. Given how late it was getting, Rodrigo didn't think anything was going to happen, which suited him just fine. He preferred to spend his Saturday at home, crouched on the sofa, watching his various documentaries that he always enjoyed watching.

***Ding-dong**Ding-dong***

The doorbell suddenly run. Rodrigo rolled his eyes and with a groan, slowly got up to answer the door.

_Whoever it is, it'd better be important!_ Rodrigo thought to himself annoyingly.

He opened the door and was surprised to see the person who was standing right in front of him.

"Hey Latino boy. What's shaking?" Helga said with a confident smile.

"Hey Helga." Rodrigo said, completely surprised by her visit. "I thought you had chores to do."

"I did. Finished them early." She said.

"Well, what are you doing here?" He suddenly asked, still taken aback that Helga suddenly showed up at his house, just out of the blue.

"What, I can't see my boyfriend whenever I want to?" She remarked, looking a bit offended. "Do I have to an appointment?"

"No, no. It's not that." Rodrigo quickly responded. "It's just that you surprised me, that's all."

"Ya, I tend to do that every so often." She said. "So you gonna let me in, or is your other girlfriend still here?"

"She's still here, but I wouldn't mind if you also joined us." Rodrigo joked with a smirk and let Helga in.

"Ugh." Was all Helga said with a somewhat disgusted look on her face and walked in.

Although surprised by her sudden visit, Rodrigo was a bit concerned as to why Helga just suddenly showed up like this.

_It's not like her to do this._ He thought. _Normally, she would call or text if she wanted to meet up. Did something happen?_

"So, what you been doing all day?" Helga asked, throwing Rodrigo off from his thoughts.

"Nothing much. Just watching TV, mostly documentaries."

"Ah, I see. The boring stuff." She said.

"It's not boring! It's highly educational and...ugh, never mind." Rodrigo said. "Wanna watch a movie or do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Nah, let's just watch a movie for now. I already had my walk when I came here." She said, as she sat down on the couch and slumped down a bit, relaxing and waiting for Rodrigo.

Despite still being a bit concerned about her sudden visit, as the day wore down, he pushed such worrying thoughts aside and just focused on spending time with his girlfriend.

_She probably just wanted to see me._ He thought. _There's nothing wrong with that. It's actually cute._

Rodrigo and Helga practically spent that entire Saturday together. While watching a movie, Rodrigo's parents came home and were almost as surprised as Rodrigo was when they saw Helga in their house, although in their case, they were happy to see her and even invited her to have dinner with them, which Helga accepted. After their movie, everyone then sat down to have dinner. Just like the previous time, Alfonso and Elisa dropped any formalities and enjoyed Helga's company, even throwing a few jokes here and there. Once Dinner was done, Rodrigo offered to take Helga out for some ice cream, which she didn't refuse, although she told him that he would have to pay this time, as she didn't bring any money with her. Rodrigo didn't mind and when The Jolly Olly man, who still drove his ice cream truck around the neighbourhood, rode by Rodrigo's house, he quickly went up to get some ice cream for them both. After they had their fill, the couple went up to his room and talked for a bit, but then settled on just watching another movie or two. By the time they finished, it was now past 9 p.m.

*yawn* Rodrigo yawned and stretched his arms and legs. "I don't know why but I'm beat."

"Ya, same here and we didn't do anything all day." Helga softly said, as she was lying on the floor, with her head on top of his legs.

"Ya, that's probably why." Rodrigo commented. "Being lazy is work, hahaha. Well, let's call it a day, it's getting late. Come, I'll walk you home."

"What, already?" Helga suddenly exclaimed as she jolted from the floor and instantly sat up right. "You know what? Yes, let's go for that walk, to the park. It's good for the heart."

"What? The park, at this hour?" He asked with a confused look.

"Ya, why not? I don't recall you having a problem going to the park on Christmas, at night, in the cold, with the snow falling down." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't have a problem going to the park this late, but..." Rodrigo began to say.

"Actually, who needs to go for that walk? I mean the flowers, the pollens and insects flying about, pfft. It's an allergic reaction waiting to happen." Helga suddenly interjected, albeit with some nervousness in her throat. "Let's play a game. I'm sure you must have some board games in here."

"Ookk..." He said with a suspicious look.

"What? I have boogers on my nose?" She asked.

"Helga, do you not want to go home?" He bluntly asked.

"Rodrigo, do you want to spend time with me?" She bluntly re-phrased his question back to him.

"I do, which is what I did, almost the whole day. And we have tomorrow to spend more time together."

"Why wait until tomorrow when I'm already here?" She exclaimed with a nervous smile.

By this point, Rodrigo was now suspecting that Helga, for some reason, did not want to go to home. However, he did not know how to get Helga to talk to him about it without coming off as inconsiderate or indicating to her that he did not want to spend time with her. He was tired and wanted to go to bed, but not wanting to aggravate her, he grudgingly settled to humour her.

"Ok sure, let's play game and hang out for a bit more." He said and then went to find a board game for them to play.

**One hour later...**

"Booya! Wow you really suck at this game." Helga remarked happily as she took away Rodrigo's last chips, much to his relief.

It was now past 10 p.m. and Rodrigo was now very tired, cranky and his patience wearing thin. He only played this game with her just to amuse her, but now that she won, it was now time for her to leave or she will have to explain to him what's been going on.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll get you next time." Rodrigo said with a smirk. "Well, good game, but I'm beat Helga. Let's call it a night. You're lucky I'm still going to walk you home."

"What, already? Boy, being lazy really exhausts you." She remarked. "The night's still young, why go to bed so early on a Saturday night?"

"Helga," Rodrigo said with a serious and annoyed tone, "it's late and I'm very tired." He said as he rubbed his eyes. "Let's call it a night, please?"

Helga was now becoming increasingly nervous. She knew that Rodrigo was reaching the end of his ropes and she was now at a crossroad where she would either have to tell him what happened or just go home. She couldn't go back home...not tonight at least.

"I promise we'll see each other again tomorrow." He pleaded, not really noticing Helga's nervous and dismayed look. "Let me take you home."

"Rodrigo...I can't go home." She finally confessed.

"What do you mean you 'can't go home'?" Rodrigo asked, not fully registering the seriousness of Helga's statement.

"I mean I can't go home. I...I don't feel safe." She said nervously.

"What? What happened?" Rodrigo asked worryingly, finally noticing the gravity of the situation.

Helga just rubbed her eyes and groaned, always hating on how having to always expel some piece of information about her home life.

"Ok, Bob is up to one of his usual rants again." She began to explain. "Sales at his business have been low for the past few months and Bob has been in a seriously grumpy mood, yelling at practically everyone and scoffing at them. Earlier today, I got into another argument with him. He ranted about how I didn't properly dust Olga's trophy displays, which I very well did, despite hating on having to do it! Anyways, that set me off and no longer taking his crummy attitude, I yelled back at him."

"Did he...hit you?" Rodrigo asked.

"No." Helga sighed softly. "That's one of the few things about Bob. Despite his short temper, he never laid a finger on me or Olga. But what we said to each other today was...not good. Anyways, long story short, I didn't want to deal with him so I just left. I didn't want to go back to my room and deal with it alone because...of what happened last time in November when I tried to do just that."

Rodrigo could not believe the turn of events. It was only last month when he went to her house to meet her family that her father revealed a softer side of him, stating that deep down, he really did care for Helga. But now with this news, it just seemed that everything went 180 degrees back to how things were, as if nothing had changed. Rodrigo couldn't help but feel bitterly disappointed in that he had some slight, albeit irrational, hope that things would eventually improve, at least with him coming into the picture.

"Normally in these situations, I would just go over to Phoebe's house," Helga continued, "but she's busy with Gerald tonight, sooo that's why I came to see you today."

Rodrigo then realized that Helga was indirectly asking him if she could sleep at his house for the night. He didn't need any time to think it over.

"Helga, you can stay here for tonight." He said.

"Thanks Latino boy." She said softly and with a small smile. "Do you think your folks wouldn't mind?"

Right after Helga blurted that question out, Rodrigo realized that he just overstepped his boundaries. He made an offer that was beyond his control to uphold. He still needed to ask his parent's permission, specifically his father.

"Um, I'm sure they would be ok with it, but let me just speak to them about it. Wait here." He said and with that, he walked out of his room and he closed the door, not wanting Helga to hear what his parents might say about this.

This was not a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Rodrigo knew that if he asked his parents, they would want to know the reason why his girlfriend would need to sleep over and that's what was worrying him. Rodrigo knew that lying to his parents was just not an option. There would be real and serious consequences not just for him, but also for Helga, if he lied for them and if they found out, but he also wanted to safeguard Helga's privacy and not divulge information that would jeopardize her trust in him. Either way, he would be risking something.

Rodrigo walked down the stairs and went into the living room, where both his parents were sitting and comfortably watching TV.

"Mama, papa?" Rodrigo nervously called out.

"Hola, hijo." Alfonso replied. "¿Helga ya se fue? No escuche la puerta abrir y cerrar." (Did Helga already leave? I didn't hear the door open and close.) He asked.

"No, Helga todavía está aquí." Rodrigo responded. "Y es de eso que necesito a preguntarles algo." (No, Helga is still here and that's why I need to ask you guys something.)

"¿De qué, hijo?" (About what, son?) Elisa asked.

Rodrigo now had his parents devoted attention. Nervously, he gathered up his strength and proceeded to ask them.

"¿Helga, se puede quedar aquí por la noche?" (Can Helga stay here for the night?) Rodrigo asked.

"¿Estas preguntando si ella puede dormir aquí?" (Are you asking if she can sleep here?) Alfonso tried to clarify.

"Si." Rodrigo asked, trying not to make it a big deal.

"¿Porque?" (Why?) Alfonso asked. "Si ella no se siente cómodo en caminar a su casa, no te preocupes. Yo lo puedo llevar en nuestro carro." (If she doesn't feel comfortable in walking home, don't worry son. I'll drive her home.)

"No es eso, papa." Rodrigo said. "Ella...no se siente cómodo en dormir en su casa esta noche." (It's not that. She...doesn't feel comfortable in sleeping in her own house tonight.)

"Ok." Alfonso said curiously, if not worryingly. "¿Que paso en su casa?" (Ok. What happened in her house?)

"Ella tuvo una mala discusión con su padre, tan mal que ella no se siente cómodo en pasar la noche en su casa, sola. No es que su padre la pega. Es que, ella no tiene una buena relación con el." He explained. (She got into a bad argument with her dad, so bad that she doesn't feel comfortable in spending the night in her house, alone. It's not that her dad hits her. It's just that she doesn't have a good relationship with him.)

By now Rodrigo's parents were alarmed and in shocked by this news. Alfonso almost instantly got up and asked,

"¿Rodrigo, esto ha ocurrido antes; ella pasando la noche afuera de su propia casa por la situación allí?" (Rodrigo, has this occurred before; her spending the night away from her home because of the situation there?)

"Si, papa." Rodrigo bluntly said. He made his decision.

Alfonso was now concerned about all of this and was now alarmed at the type of girl that Helga is, as well as the kind of family that she had. As much as he wanted to inquiry more about it, this wasn't the right moment. There was still the matter of allowing Helga to sleep over that night.

"Ok Rodrigo. Ella se puede quedar esta noche." Alfonso said. "Pero, bajo el condición que mañana, hablaremos mas de esto." (Ok Rodrigo. She can stay for tonight. But, under the condition that tomorrow, we discuss more about this)

"Ok. Gracias papa." Rodrigo said and went back upstairs to tell Helga.

Shortly after, Alfonso went upstairs to prepare the guest bedroom for Helga to sleep in. He went to the linen closet, got out some bed sheets and a cover and went into the guest bedroom to ready it. While he was busy getting the bed ready, Alfonso was in deep thought about all of this. Although never the type of person to not help out someone in need, this case was very different; it involved his son and he was worried about what kind of future he would have with Helga. Alfonso was so much wrapped up with his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear a knock on the bedroom door.

"Mr. Castile?" Helga called out softly.

"Oh Helga. You can come in; the bed's almost ready." He said, as he took a quick glance at her and then turned his head around to finish the bed.

Helga could tell as she went inside that there was some sort of tension in him. Clearly he wasn't happy about this arrangement and Helga was now starting to regret on even asking Rodrigo if she could stay here.

"Uh, thank you for letting me stay her for the night, Mr. Castile." She nervously said with a smile, hoping he wasn't too upset.

"Not to worry Helga." Alfonso responded rather dryly, not even bothering to turn around to look at her.

Helga instantly dropped her nervously smile as she felt her heart sank at Alfonso' response, as she now realized that she had now just sabotaged her good relationship that she was working on with Rodrigo's parents.

_I shouldn't have come here._ She thought to herself sadly.

Helga thought about just going back home and face Bob instead of becoming a burden to Rodrigo and his family, but it was too late by this point. She would only aggravate the situation if she left now, and so opted to stay and take it.

Just then, Alfonso was done and was about to leave the room when he turned around and said softly, but a bit stern tone,

"Have a good night, Helga." And gently closed the door, leaving Helga in her room alone, consumed with guilt and anxiety over what he must now think of her.

**To be continued...**


	11. Chapter 11 - Meeting the Castiles Part 2

**The next morning...**

Helga and the rest of the family went to the kitchen table to eat breakfast. Helga was steadfast on leaving the second she woke up. However, she overslept and when she finally woke up, the rest of the family were already awake. When they saw her, they offered her some breakfast. However, Helga politely declined, stating that she had already caused a lot of trouble, but Elisa insisted that it was no trouble at all and wished for her to have some breakfast with her. Helga reluctantly agreed.

While at the kitchen table, Helga scanned to take a lot at Rodrigo's parents and see how they were dealing with her presence. By the looks of it, Elisa did not seem bothered it. She served Helga her breakfast and engaged in conversation with her whenever she did. Unless she was a very good actress, Elisa still seemed to think positive about her. She couldn't say the same with Alfonso. Although he looked to be a bit more cheerful, Helga could see that he was still bothered by all of this. He kept his distance and paid little attention at her, almost to the point of ignoring that fact that she was even there, which bothered her to no end. Rodrigo and Elisa did not seem to notice this and continued on eating. No longer wishing to tolerate this tension between her and Rodrigo's father, as soon as she finished her breakfast, Helga thanked them for their wonderful hospitality, apologized again for her intrusion and then promptly left. She also did not want to give them the opportunity to ask her about what happened in her house that she felt she couldn't go home. Although she wasn't sure what Rodrigo told them, she wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Alfonso waited patiently before he could speak to Rodrigo. After cleaning the dishes and making sure Helga was far away from their house, it was now time for some serious explanation.

"Rodrigo, vámonos a la sala. Tenemos que hablar sobre esta situación con Helga." (Rodrigo, let's go to the living room. We need to talk about this situation with Helga.) He said quite sternly.

Rodrigo made no attempt to argue and quietly made his way towards the living room. He wasn't sure if his father was angry, concerned or just upset about it. All he knew was that it was bothering him and he was going to get some details from Rodrigo, either the easy way or the hard way. Upon entering the living room, Rodrigo sat down on the sofa, while Alfonso and Elisa sat down on the couch with their baby daughter on Elisa's lap.

"Rodrigo, que exactamente paso en la casa de Helga, que ella misma no se sienta segura en su propia casa? Que está pasando allí y que tanto la está afectando?" (Rodrigo, what exactly is going on in Helga's house that she herself doesn't feel safe in her own home? What is happening over there and how much has this been affecting her?) Alfonso began with a concerned but very serious ton in this voice.

"Y cuidado, que no me engañes. Como ella es tu novia, esto si nos concierne." (And do not lie to us. Because she is your girlfriend, this concerns us.) He continued.

Rodrigo had been preparing for this all morning, but he was still nervous. Although he knew he wasn't in any trouble, he was afraid of how his parents might feel about Helga once they found out about her home life. It's not like he had any other choice.

Despite now being backed into a corner, Rodrigo was still hesitant in spilling anything out. He quickly thought about an alternative plan in order to get out of this. Should he just lie to them? What's the worst that can happen? It's not like he's never lied to them before. If he lies, and if his parents buy it, then Helga's secret can still be kept safe. But...

_...what if they ever found out? What if they find out in the future and they don't take it well? The lie and the truth about Helga's home life?_ He thought.

Reluctantly, he scratched that plan and thought about just perhaps telling them only parts of it. But what if they are not happy with his answer and inquiry more about it? Or how will they react if they ever meet Helga's parents? They are not dumb. If they ever do meet them, they will put two and two together and figure out that there are issues in her home life.

"¿Bueno hijo? Estamos esperando." (Well son? We are watching.) His father then said, calmly waiting for him to start talking

With no other options, not wanting to lie to them about this issue, Rodrigo gave in.

_I'm sorry Helga._ He thought.

"Ok papa. Te lo digo todo..." (Ok dad. I'll tell you everything...) He said softly.

**Meanwhile...**

While Rodrigo was being interrogated, Helga angrily burst into her house, not even caring if anyone was even there to greet her. For once, she just didn't care. Feeling utterly embarrassed, guilty and angry for ruining any chance of Rodrigo's parents liking her, Helga quickly stomped her way into her room and slammed the door shut.

"Crimeny, what was I thinking?!" She angrily yelled. "Why couldn't I've just sucked it up and stayed home?! Why did I have to spend the night in his house?!" She continued to yell before falling onto her bed, face first.

Utterly frustrated and angry, Helga let out a roar with her pillow covering her face, all awhile just hitting her bed with her fists.

"Damn it!" She muffled with her face on the pillow. "I screwed it up! I had them! I had them in my pocket! They liked me and now they hate me!"

It took a bit of a while, but after getting all of her angry and managing to calm down a bit, Helga slowly and sadly, got up and sat down.

"His dad must really hate me." She softly said to herself. "Hate me? Who does he think he is anyways?" She exclaimed with anger as she launched herself from her bed and began to walk around her room.

"He doesn't know me. He doesn't know what I've been through. He probably doesn't even know what it's like. The nerve of that guy giving me the cold shoulder, like I am some sort of pariah! Well news flash for him; I'm fine just the way I am and if he has a problem with me, that's HIS problem, not mine!"

"I know I have my problems, but come on who doesn't?! Mr. Goody two shoes, thinks he is all high and mighty and doesn't think I'm good enough for his own son, well I am!" She continued to yell in her room. "Rodrigo knows that, and that's why I'm with him; because he sees the good things in me!"

Despite being angry at Alfonso for his supposed bias, deep down Helga knew the real reason why Alfonso gave her the cold shoulder; he was concerned for his son. But Helga couldn't help it. Feeling utterly hurt and rejected, she continued stomping around in her room.

"This is what I get whenever I show my vulnerability. Instead of getting rewarded for it, I get punished for it. I could have taken it and just stayed home. Now I left Rodrigo to face his parents, alone. Who knows what he might say to them! I can't hold it against him if he feels he needs to tell his parents. The only left to do is just hope for the best. Or just save them the trouble and just break up with him now, while we are still young."

**Back at the Castiles' house...**

"And that's pretty much it." Rodrigo said.

His parents said nothing and just stared at Rodrigo, completely shocked and horrified with what he just told them, so much so that their jaws were somewhat hanging open. Rodrigo took their facial expression and silence as grievous news and felt that any further hope of them ever approving of Helga was rapidly deteriorating.

Rodrigo didn't tell them everything, but he provided enough information to his parents about Helga that it was irrefutable for them to know just who this girl is. He told them about her anger issues and where it came from. He told them about the emotional neglect that she had been facing at home since she was three years of age, especially how her poor relationship with her father had affected her. He told them about what the issues that they had before they started dating, which included in revealing to them the person who almost got his suspended from school after only two months of starting; Helga! Although his parents knew of the incident and even knew of the person's sex, Rodrigo never told them who it really was, until now, shocking them.

When Alfonso asked if Helga ever took her anger out on anyone, Rodrigo explained that despite being an angry child, if you stood out of her way, literally and metaphorically, she didn't bother you. However, he did confess that there was one person whom she did take her anger out on; Arnold.

"¿Arnold? El niño rubio que impidió este barrio de ser derrumbado hace casi seis años antes?" (Arnold? The blond kid that prevented this neighbourhood from being torn down almost six years ago?) Alfonso asked.

"Si papa. El mismo niño." Rodrigo said.

Rodrigo didn't quite hid it, but he also didn't provide a lot of the gruelling details about Helga's relationship with Arnold. He mentioned to them the name calling, the bullying, the threats, the constant picking, even how long it went. Alfonso was flabbergasted when he heard this.

"Pero...Por que... como podía hacer todo eso contra un niño que supuestamente, era un ángel?" (But...why...how could she do that to someone who supposedly was an angel?) Alfonso asked in disbelief.

"Porque lo quería." (Because she liked him.) Rodrigo softly responded.

With that statement, no further explanation was needed. Alfonso and Elisa now fully understand why Helga constantly picked up Arnold. It made complete sense to them.

Needless to say, Alfonso and Elisa were completely shocked and horrified with the way Helga was being treated at home. To them, this wasn't neglect; it was abuse! However, Alfonso then regained his soft and confident composure and got up.

*cleared throat* "Bueno hijo, gracias por ser honesto con nosotros. Lo apreciamos." (Well son, thank you for being honest with us. We appreciate it.) He calmly said.

"¿No estas molesto?" (You are not mad?) Rodrigo asked.

"No, no estoy molesto." (No, I'm not angry.) He responded and then began to walk away and out of the living room, leaving Rodrigo there with an eerily feeling that this issue had not yet run its course.

**The next day...Monday...**

Rodrigo meet up with Helga during lunch. He met up with her at her locker. Making it just in time, both teens then began to walk toward the lunchroom to eat, but one could tell that there was tension between them.

Feeling ashamed for revealing so much about Helga's issues and past to his parents, Rodrigo nervously walked and hoped Helga wouldn't inquire on it. Helga for her part, was anxious to know if Rodrigo spilled out any of her secrets and if so, much do they now know.

"I hope I didn't get you into any trouble this weekend." She finally said.

"No, I didn't." He said. "But I had a talk with my parents...about you."

"How much did you tell them?" She calmly asked.

"Not everything, but enough for them to know." He vaguely said.

Helga said nothing and just continued to walk, angrily frowning that Rodrigo's parents are now aware of her issues, but restraining herself from saying anything to him.

"I also told them about Arnold." He then suddenly said.

Helga then immediately stopped walking upon hearing his name. Rodrigo, who was walking very close to her, accidently bumped into her, but didn't knock her down.

"Hey, why did you stop walking?" He asked.

"What did you say?" She sternly asked.

"I said that I told my parents about Arnold. I didn't give them any serious details, but I told them how you used to pick on him when you guys were kids..."

Helga didn't wait for Rodrigo to finish and she instantly turned around to face him, then very aggressively grabbed him by his shirt and with a deadly glare in her eyes,

"Why did you tell them that?!" She angrily yelled at him as she shook him. "They didn't need to know about my relationship with the football head! That's not their business!"

"They asked Helga!" Rodrigo exclaimed back with a shocking look on his face. "I was backed into a corner; I couldn't lie to them. Besides, we've been living in that neighbourhood for almost a year now and it's not like your relationship with Arnold is a secret. People talk. They already knew about how Arnold and what he did for the neighbourhood. They know who helped him and are aware that he used to date someone. Granted, they didn't know it was you, but they heard that it was someone who was renowned for her...assertive personality. They are not stupid. They would have put two and two together."

"And can you stop gabbing me like that?!" He then angrily shouted back at her. "You know how much I hate it when you do that! I thought we were past this."

Helga said nothing and just continued to give Rodrigo a angry, facial snarl, but then eventually let him and began to walk the opposite direction, still frowning.

"Wait, Helga!" Rodrigo frantically said as he attempted to grab her arm.

"Don't! Just...don't Rodrigo." Helga said with a slight sense of anger and hurt in her voice, as she continued walking and yanking her arm away from his grasp.

"Helga, I know you're upset, but we can discuss this." Rodrigo replied. "Just talk to me."

"What's there to talk about?" She said to him as she instantly stopped walking and turned around to face him with her own scowling face, almost having him collide with her for the second time.

"You're parents don't like me. They hate me." She declared. "You're dad made that very clear when he gave me the cold shoulder."

"No, they like you, really." Rodrigo protested. "They told me that themselves. I'm sure there's a logical explanation as to why you felt he gave you the cold shoulder like that. He never would have done that to you." He tried to explain.

"That was before I slept over to your house last weekend!" She said dismissively. "You're parents now think I'm a down trodden, white trash girl from a broken family who is out to 'corrupt' their joyful son."

"That's not true!" He angrily protested.

"Yes it is!" She angrily yelled back. "I should have never come over to your house that day." She sadly lamented, removing some of her anger from her expression. "I should have just sucked it up and stayed home, or just slept in the park. At least I could have slept well with the knowledge that they still liked me."

"Helga...I..." Rodrigo tried to bring some words of assuring or encouragement but fell short of saying anything.

Helga said nothing and just silently, but sadly began to turn around again and leave.

"Helga, wait!" Rodrigo cried out and attempted to unforcibly grab her arm

"Forget it, Latino boy!" She exclaimed, regaining her anger back. "It's too late. I screwed it up!"

"Helga, I know you are upset about this, but just, will you stop woman?!" Rodrigo yelled and this time somewhat forcibly grabbed her arm, making her stop walking away and got in front of her.

"I know you're upset, but I think are taking this a bit out of proportion." He said.

"How?" She asked him with a serious stare and a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, I know you may think that my parents think ill of you after what I told them about some of your...history, but they didn't really say anything bad about you after, nor did they make any attempt to discourage me from going out with you."

Helga said nothing and just continued to stand there with her arms crossed.

"And even if they were to say something, do you actually think I'm just going to stand there while they bad mouth you? I didn't allow that when our friends did that; I'm not going to allow my parents to do it. I'll stand by you!"

Helga still said nothing and just continued to stand there with her arms crossed.

"That's why I think you're taking this a bit out of..."Rodrigo then instantly stopped talking, his eyes becoming wide when he it finally hit him.

"Go on..."She said to him with a bit of a smirk, almost as if she was daring him to finish what he was going to say.

"Nothing..." Rodrigo grudgingly said.

"You were going to say something." She taunted him.

"It's nothing..." Rodrigo said, this time embarrassingly.

"Just say it." She dared him.

"Nothing, I said!" He annoyingly exclaimed.

"You were going tell me again that I'm taking all of this out of proportion." She finished her sentence for him. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?" He asked her.

"Tell me why I'm not taking this out of proportion." She said, while taking a step closer to him, challenging him.

"Do you really want me to say it?" He asked her, getting frustrating with her gloating.

"Yes." She sternly replied back.

"Fine! You are not taking this out of proportion because...you confided in my parents to take you in when you needed help. You...trusted them that they would take you in for just one night without complaint, without any judgment." He confessed.

"And?" She softly, almost mischievously asked him with a taunting, if not a triumphant smile.

"And... that trust is now broken. You felt that they judged you based on where you came." He annoyingly muttered in defeat.

"Attaboy!" She said condescendingly, even going so far as to pat Rodrigo on his head, much to his fury.

"That's not funny!" He angrily yelled back as he instantly slapped her hand away from him.

"You damn right it's not funny!" She angrily yelled back at him.

"Thanks to my naivety, I now have to deal with a bunch of in-laws who despise me! This is what I get for trusting people!"

"Helga! You can trust my parents, really!" Rodrigo attempted to protest, but it was no use. Helga had made up her mind about this scenario and unless he had undeniable proof to the contrary, there was little that he could do to change her mind. As a result, he went silent.

Helga for her part, no longer wanting to argue over this, simply turned and walked away. Rodrigo just stood there in both astonishment and deep frustration as he watched her leave. Although wanting to follow her and see if she was ok, he thought that perhaps it was best if she just cooled down a bit. Clearly this thing was upsetting her and Rodrigo couldn't blame her for it. After watching her for a bit, he then began to towards the lunchroom, disappearing around the corner.

Helga then stopped walking and rubbed her eyes in utter frustration, as regret and guilt began to consume her for blowing up on Rodrigo like that.

"Damn it Rodrigo, I'm really sorry sorry for taking it out on y..." She said as she turned around but then noticed that he wasn't there. Rodrigo mistook Helga's walking away for wanting to be alone. After looking around a bit to see where he was saw, she realized that he must have walked towards the lunchroom on his own. Mistaking that for Rodrigo being upset with her for blowing up on him like that, Helga sadly and grudgingly just took this opportunity to be alone for a moment. She went back to locker and sat on the floor to eat her lunch. There was a lot in her mind that she needed to clear out.

Helga wasn't the only one who was in deep thought. While at work, Alfonso was still pondering over everything that Rodrigo had told him about Helga. Unfortunately, the blonde girl had mistook Alfonso's so-called 'cold shoulder' attitude towards her last weekend for contempt. That wasn't the case at all. As kind of a bad habit, whenever Alfonso was in his own thoughts, he would push away any external distractions in order to concentrate, giving cold and one sentence responses. To say that he was taking this matter seriously was an understatement. He didn't sleep well that Sunday night. Nor did he at all on Monday night.

In truth, Alfonso was severely conflicted by this. As a parent, he was highly concerned about his son going out with someone who had such a troubled past. True, other people had worse pasts than Helga, but Alfonso has studied psychology to know every well that emotional neglect/abuse through a person's entire life was extremely detrimental to their emotional development. You don't need to beat a child in order to screw him/her up. Ignoring her needs and wants is just as effective, is not more. Alfonso knew that Rodrigo didn't tell him everything about Helga. He knew that as her boyfriend, he wanted to protect her, so God knows what other issues she had that Alfonso didn't know, which only aggravated the situation. Like any parent, he wanted the best for his son; a loving, stable and happy life with someone. According to how he saw it, Helga did not seem capable of providing that type of life. If anything, she seemed to only provide unwanted stress and as a possible burden; someone who instead of helping him, would hinder him. Given what Rodrigo had told him, Alfonso did not see any major improvements in Helga throughout the years, despite Rodrigo insisting otherwise. She was still moody, prone to mood swings, can be easily angered, all while still retaining her cynical attitude. True, Alfonso did not know Helga well enough to make such a judgment, but he was also skeptical about Rodrigo's own judgment. He knew that Rodrigo's assurance that Helga being better was a bit biased.

On the other hand, Alfonso's concern wasn't one-sided. He was almost just as concerned for Helga. Coming from just a neglectful background, Alfonso knew full well that one shouldn't discard or push away someone like Helga. Quite the contrary, this teen needed help; she needed someone to be there for her, whether it was someone like Arnold, or currently, Rodrigo. Alfonso was essentially battling with his own conscience. He wanted to help her.

Growing up in a country with rampant poverty and destitution, Alfonso remembered while at work, when he was younger, how eager he wanted to help others in needed. He remembered going into some of the country's worst slums and volunteering with local and international charities that distributed food, clothes and provided free education. His parents, highly concerned for his safety, tried several times to deter him from going into those areas, opting instead to at least go to other areas of the city that were safer, but Alfonso refused, explaining that for that every reason, he felt he needed to go to the worst place where most would never venture and help out. Putting his own life at risk, Alfonso continued volunteer there for years, even when he entered university, he still continued to volunteer. Even when he eventually stopped, he forgot his moral conviction to help others and through his engagement in philosophy, the social sciences, religion and the arts, he used his intellect and skill to continue those who lived in absolute poverty, either by providing jobs for them or even teaching them in certain subjects during his spare time. Despite coming from a rather religious background, Alfonso was one of the few people that openly supported an end to homophobia and the rampant discrimination that many gays, lesbians, trans-gendered lived. He believed that gay and trans-gendered people deserved to be happy with those whom they loved, regardless of their gender or sex, although Alfonso never explicitly stated that he supported gay marriage. After trying so hard for many years to help others out, seeing the absolute misery, despair and sheer horror that many people lived, this veteran of 'education of life' was the main reason why Alfonso grew up to become a stoically serious person, rarely laughing or even smiling. Given his experience, there was nothing that warranted him to smile or laugh about.

Moreover, being raised in a family that strongly emphasized in showing compassion and understanding towards the downtrodden, Alfonso was practically raised to help others up. It was his calling, his destiny.

As a parent, he instilled that same level of compassion and morality into his own children, Rodrigo particularly. Through his sheer vast of knowledge that he had accumulated, Alfonso taught Rodrigo from an early to always be mindful of other people's plight, to never assume that people who do 'bad' things are simply bad people. They act out the way they do because they are hurting and are yearning for help, even if they verbally state otherwise. Helga was one of those very people.

And yet, for the first time, Alfonso hesitated. Unlike previous times, this situation involved a member of his own family; his son. At the very least, when he went to the slums, he went there alone, never dragging any of his friends or family members, of fear of putting them in harms' way. Apart from the fact that he felt he was becoming a hypocrite, Alfonso did not feel right to just abandon Helga like that. On a personal level, he had come to like her and held no grudges against her.

As Alfonso continued to think about this with the days rolling by, he felt that if Rodrigo's assuredness about Helga being better than how she used to be ranged some truth, it was mostly due to Rodrigo coming into Helga's life. Alfonso felt a serious case of anxiety and guilt growing over him due to that thought. If he were to intervene in their relationship, it would deeply affect both teens. But the person that would bear the brunt of it all will be Helga. That thought caused Alfonso to cringe while he was in his office, becoming completely consumed with guilt. Rodrigo not only provided Helga some sense of stability in her life, but most importantly, love. He also gave her a sense of hope, a sense of optimism that someone can and does like her for who she is, despite her unstable upbringing. If Alfonso broke them up, it would force Helga to plunge back into the pessimistic, depressive, dark abyss that she was in for years after Arnold left. Because of her upbringing, Alfonso knew that Helga needed that stability and emotional support, more than anyone.

Alfonso essentially spent the next three days contemplating on what to do. Finally, by the third day, in the late evening, Alfonso was in the kitchen table, sipping on his tea and after much thought, he had made his decision. With great reluctance and guilt, he decided on prioritizing Rodrigo over Helga. For the first time, he chose family over helping someone. The next day, after Rodrigo came home from school, he will sit down with his son and inform him that he will have to terminate his relationship with Helga.

_Dios, perdoname._ (God, forgive me.) He thought to himself as he lamented over this decision.

"¿Alfonso?" His wife Elisa then came into the kitchen. "¿Estas bien?" (Are you alright?) She asked him.

"Concluye que Helga no es una bueno mujer para Rodrigo." Alfonso bluntly said to her. "Mañana, voy a hablar con el e informarle que debe romper su relación con ella." (I concluded that Helga is not the best girl for Rodrigo. Tomorrow, I'm going to speak to him and inform him that he will need to sever his relationship with her.) As he took a sip from his tea.

Elisa was not idle during those three days. Like Alfonso, she too had been worried about the type of girl that Helga was and whether or not she was best for Rodrigo.

"¿Alfonso, por qué dices eso?" (Why do you say that, Alfonso?) She asked as she took a seat next to him. "¿Tu no piensas que esa decisión es un poco extremo?" (Don't you think that you are being a little extreme?)

"Claro que no." (Of course not.) Alfonso said as he looked at his wife with a bewildered face. "Es totalmente justificado. Después de todo que Rodrigo nos contó de ella, como no puedo llegar en esta conclusión?" (After everything that Rodrigo told us about her, could I not come to this conclusion?)

"Te lo digo honestamente, Alfonso." (I'll be honest with you, Alfonso.) Elisa said to him calmly. "No creo que este curso de acción es el camino correcto; para todos, incluyendo a usted. No pienses que yo estaba siego durante esto tres días. Yo vi que este asunto te estaba fastidiando, fuertemente. Y ahora, lo puedo ver en tus ojos, que esta decisión no te está dando paz. Lo contrario." (I don't think that this course of action is the right one; for everything, including you. Don't think that I was blind during these last three days. I saw that this issue has been bothering you, a lot. And now, I can tell that this decision is not giving you any peace of mind. I can see it in your eyes.)

"Ok lo confesó," Alfonso said. "esta decisión si me fastidia y lo dudo que me va dar paz en el futuro. Pero entiende, ya tuvimos que soportar tanto estrés y drama de mi familia durante estos ultimo anos. Tu sabes que tanto esa experiencia afecto a nuestro hijo. Y ahora, cuando nos mudamos a empezar una nueva vida aquí en Hillwood, sin esa carga, cuando Rodrigo ya se está saliendo de esa túnel de sentir deprimido y excluido que MI propia familia trailló en su vida, ahora tenemos soportar el estrés de la carga que Helga lleva en su hombros? (Ok I confess, this decison does bother me and I doubt it will give me any peace of mind in the future. But you have to understand, we already had to support so much stress and drama from my family during these last years. You know how much that experience affected our son. And now, when we moved to begin a new life here in Hillwood, without that burden, when Rodrigo is just now getting out of that sense of depression and exclusion that My own family brought on him, we have to now support the stress that will come from Helga's hectic life?)

"Helga es muy inestable para él. Rodrigo ya tuvo suficiente estrés y ansiedad en su vida. No quiero que continúe en esa moda por la situación en que Helga fue creado." (Helga is too unstable for him. He has had enough stress in his life. I don't want that trend to continue because of Helga's upbringing) Alfonso continued.

"Si, estoy de acuerdo." Elisa said to him. "El si ya tuvo suficiente estrés y ansiedad ¿Entonces, por qué vas a traerlos de vuelta con esta decisión?" (Yes, I agree. He already did have enough stress and anxiety. So then why are you bringing them back by getting them to break up?) She then rhetorically asked him.

Alfonso then just looked at her with a sense of both revelation and annoyance. Even now, it is still hard to argue with her.

"Mira Alfonso," Elisa then continued. "si lo convences a cortar su relación con Helga, va a sufrir otra vez. Esto es obvio. Pero, si lo dejas en paz, quien sabe como las cosas terminaran entre ellos? Pueden lograr, o pueden decir en terminar su relación entre ellos. Además Alfonso, tu pienses que si lo pides Rodrigo a romper su relación con Helga, el te va obedecer? Tu realmente pienses que el simplemente va a decir, 'ok', sin por lo menos luchar por su mujer?" (Look Alfonso, if you convince them to break up with her, he will suffer again. That much is obvious. But, if you let it run its course, who know how things will turn up? They could succeed, or they could decide to end things themselves. Besides Alfonso, do you think that if you ask Rodrigo to break up with Helga, he will actually listen to you? Do you really think he will just simply say, 'ok' without at least fighting for his girl?).

"El es mi hijo, y yo soy su padre. El me obedecerá." (He is my son and I am his father. He will do what I say.) Alfonso said firmly, trying to retain his decreasing sense of authority.

But Elisa just smiled at him and teasingly said to him, "Que tan ingenuo eres tú a veces, mi amor." (how naive you sometimes are, my love.) She chuckled.

Despite his extreme annoyance at her teasing, Alfonso promptly, but calmly responded.

"Además, el hecho que Rodrigo esta emocionalmente invertido en esta relación, lo siega de la realidad." (Besides, the fact that Rodrigo is emotionally invested in this relationship, blinds him from the facts.)

"La realidad mi amor, es que su relación es, por lo menos por ahora, bien estable y feliz." (The fact is my love, that their relationship is, for the moment at least, very stable and happy.) She tells him.

"Aun que la creencia de Helga fue...negligente, no es una mala niña. Todo lo contrario. Ella es muy inteligente, con una grande corazón en ayudar otras gentes. Ella no es delincuente. Aun que si tiene problemas de ira, ella va al colegio, no usa drogas, no toma, ni pasa su tiempo con mal grupos." (Even though her upbringing was...neglectful, she is not a bad girl. Quite the contrary. She is very smart, with a great heart to help others. She is not a delinquent. Although she goes have anger issues, she goes to school, doesn't do drugs or drink and doesn't hang out with the wrong crowd.) Elisa continues.

"Dime Alfonso, como te sientes en hacer esto a Helga?" (Tell me Alfonso, how do you feel on having to do this to Helga?) Elisa asked him.

"No importa cómo me siento sobre esto," (It doesn't matter what I feel,) He said to her, "pero me siento terrible." (I feel terrible.) He confessed. "Pero eso no significa que ella es la mejor persona para Rodrigo!" (But that doesn't mean that she is what is best for Rodrigo!) He exclaimed.

"Entonces tu puedes vivir con la realidad que, aparte que vas a causar tremendo dolor a estos ambos chicos, pero tambien va niegar para ti mismo, la oportunidad para ayudar alguien como Helga? Me estás diciendo que vas estar totalmente bien haciendo esto? Tu quieres eso en tu conciencia?" (Then are you telling me that you are going to live with the fact that, apart that you are going to cause serious pain on these two kids, but also that you are going to pass on the opportunity to help someone like Helga? Are you telling me that are you going to be completely fine with all of that? You want that on your conscience?" She asked him with a warning, if not a threatening tone.

Alfonso said nothing and just nervously fidgeted with his hands, clearly distressed with that idea. Alfonso was more afraid than anything else as coming out this as a total hypocrite. He had practically engrained to Rodrigo to always help out someone in need, to never forget those who have been 'left behind' and to always appreciate what he already had, which was a lot. True, you can't always help everyone, and Alfonso didn't expect him to be a saint, but he did teach him to understand the social, political and economic conditions that spawned poverty, misery, racism, homophobia, misogynism, etc. Through this education, Rodrigo from an early age understood the complexities of society and helped him see the poor, the forgotten as humans who needed help in getting back on their feet. Moreover, as expected, Rodrigo had always appreciated what he had and unlike most teens his age, never really developed a materialistic attitude. Compared to many of his peers, he lead a relatively simple life. Alfonso knew that if he told Rodrigo to let Helga go, it would betray everything that he taught his son and no doubt would create resentment between them.

Besides, him educating his son on these areas had worked too well. Alfonso agreed with this wife that Rodrigo will never obey him to terminate his relationship with Helga, both because he liked her and also because he will not abandon her like her family essentially did.

Knowing his son, Rodrigo would never forgive him if he forced him to do this.

After a one or two moments had passed, Alfonso finally relented and heeded his conscience. He couldn't do it.

"Ok, está bien." He finally said. "los dejare a continuar su relación." (Ok. I'll let them continue with their relationship.)

Elisa smiled at him and then gave him a kiss on his cheeks.

"Gracias mi amor." (Thank you, my love.) She said with a smile.

Alfonso said nothing and just smile at her as he held her hand and caressed it.

**The next day...**

It was still the weekday and the Castiles were having dinner. They had only just recently sat down to eat when Alfonso wanted to bring Helga up again.

"Rodrigo, tu piensas si Helga está disponible este fin de semana?" (Rodrigo, do you think Helga is available this weekend?) He asked his son.

"Pues, creo que sí, papa." (I think so, Dad.) Rodrigo said cautiously, as he looked up at his father with a raised eyebrow. "¿Por qué?" (Why?).

"Bueno, tu mama e yo nos disfrutamos de su compañía la ultima vez, que queremos cenar con ella otra vez." (Well, your mom and I enjoyed her company the last time, that we would like to have dinner with her again.) He responded.

"...de verdad?" (...really?) Rodrigo asked surprisingly.

"Si, por supuesto!" (Yes, of course!) Alfonso exclaimed with a smile.

**Saturday evening...**

***Ding dong***

"¡Mama, papa! Ya esta aquí!" (Mom, dad! She's here!) Rodrigo happily called out as he quickly went to open the door.

"Hey!" He said to Helga as he opened the door.

"Hey." She nonchalantly responded, not even smiling at him.

After their argument at lunchtime on Monday, neither teen spoke to each other. They weren't mad at each other. Helga still felt guilty for taking it out on him and figured he needed some time alone, while Rodrigo felt Helga needed some more time to cool down. Even during their history class, they kept their distance and remained silent throughout. The only thing that prevented things from getting incredibly awkward was the teacher conducting his lecture. Both teens used the teacher's lecture to concentrate on something else other than each other.

It was only after school when they finally began speaking to each other. Helga naturally spoke first and apologized for blowing up on him, while he also apologized for not grasping how she felt about his father's treatment of her. Simultaneously, both teens realized to their relief that they mistook each other's walking way as an indication that they wanted to be alone. They reconciled after.

After Alfonso invited Helga to dine with them again, Rodrigo felt so relieved. He felt that whatever was bothering his parents about Helga, they decided to put that aside and just give her a chance.

Ecstatic, he went to talk to Helga the next day about the invite. Helga on the other hand, did not share Rodrigo's enthusiasm. Never being one to get her hopes up so easily, she initially declined the invitation; thinking it was some sort of trick to get her to come just so they can scoff or lecture her. While she didn't really know how Elisa felt about her, she was sure about Alfonso. Rodrigo had to repeatedly reassure her that this invitation was not some a trick or any scam to get her to come just so they can scoff at her. He insisted again that they enjoyed her company last time and would like to do so again. He explained to her that his parents are not the type of people that act all nice around you, only to then scoff or ridicule you behind your back. He also said that if that were to happen, he will have her back. It took some convincing, but eventually Helga agreed to it, albeit reluctantly.

Unlike the first time, Helga arrived at Rodrigo's house less formal. While she still prepped up a bit, such as combing her hair, she wore a simple thin, hoody sweater with no jewellery on her.

"Alright, let's get this over with." She said with a slight annoyance in her voice.

"Helga!" Elisa then called out as she went to the door to greet her. "So nice to see you again. Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for having me again, Mrs. Castile." Helga said, actually sounding genuine in her tone, even smiling at her a bit.

All three parties then began to walk into the house and were on their way into the living room when someone else called out Helga's name.

"Helga." Alfonso said, as he called out from behind them. When Helga turned around, whatever little smile she had on her face completely disappeared, a gesture that Alfonso noticed.

"Es bien verte otra vez. Gracias por honóranos con tu presencia." (It's nice to see you again. Thank you for honoring us with your visit.) He said with a genuine smile.

Not taking his comments, or his smile genuinely, Helga had to really restrain her from making any sharp, smart-mouth comments back at him. After taking a deep breath,

"Gracias por tus palabras, Señor Castile." She said through her teeth.

"Before we began, I would like to have a private word with you, Helga, if we may." He said.

"About?" She asked him.

"It's something that I would like to share with you. Call it a few words of wisdom " He vaguely responded.

Helga had to take another deep breath again to restrain herself from getting angry. Believing that she was about get a lecture from him, she clutched her fists and tightly and again through her grinning teeth,

"Sure Mr. Castile."

"Please." Alfonso said with a smile, as he gestured with his hand towards the hallway that led to his office and began to walk first.

Elisa had by this time gone off to the kitchen to put out last dishes of food on the dining table, so it was Helga and Rodrigo on their own. Helga immediately turned to face Rodrigo and with a angry, scowling face,

"I'm going to kill you after." She whispered to him as she gestured with her thumb, slicing her throat at him.

Rodrigo said nothing and nervously smiled at her and shrugged his shoulder before Helga then walked behind Alfonso to his office. Rodrigo looked on as he nervously swallowed and started fidgeting with his hands as both his father and girlfriend disappeared when they entered the office and closed the door.

"I...I'd better sit down before I hurt myself." He said to himself and began to talk into the living room to lie down.

Alfonso quietly closed the door behind Helga as she entered the room. The eerie silence since they started walking towards the room, the slow movements of their walks, Alfonso's calm demeanour, and eventual confrontation was unnerving Helga.

"Please, sit." Alfonso said while he grabbed another chair.

Very anxiously, Helga quietly sat down and braced for the inevitable 'lecture' as she watched Alfonso grab a chair and move close to her. Finally, no longer able to tolerate this charade and really not wanting to get lectured by someone whom she thought didn't really understand where she was coming from, no sooner had Alfonso sat down when Helga immediately got up.

"Look Mr. Castile, I'm really sorry for creating any trouble into your home, ok?" She began to say frantically to him. "I never meant to make you worry about what type of girl your son dating. Ok yes, I have...issues at home, but come on, who doesn't these days?! A-A-And it's not like I'm crazy or something. I go to school, I get good grades and don't hang out with any idiotic losers. I'm not here to hurt Rodrigo, or make his life a living hell. He's the best thing that has ever happened to me in a long time. I like him, I really do. But you have another thing going if I'm just going to stand here and get judged by..."

"Helga, stop." Alfonso said to her firmly, evening lifting his hand showing his palm at her.

"You have nothing to apologize about." He said to her. "You have done nothing wrong. Nothing. I didn't bring you here so I can lecture you. I brought you here because it is I who wants to, no should, apologize to you."

"What? Come again?" Helga asked, trying to confirm if she heard him right.

"Please sit." Alfonso said. After some hesitation, Helga with a bit of reluctance, sat back down and waited for Alfonso talk.

"Helga, I want to apologize to you for making you think that I was acting rude, or just giving you the cold shoulder when you stayed over here last weekend." He began. "I wasn't trying to be cold or rude you, nor was I angry at you. I was actually deep in my thoughts about why you felt you couldn't go home on that day and I'm sorry for making you think that I was upset with you. I wasn't."

"Did Rodrigo say anything to you?" She asked.

"No, he didn't." Alfonso responded. "He didn't need to. It's a bad habit that I have and I've done it with a quite number of people in my life. I know that my misunderstood behaviour didn't go unnoticed with you. You're too smart to not have noticed it."

"Well um, apologized accepted." She said with nervous smile.

_Phew, that didn't seem so bad._ She thought.

"Thank you, but there is more." He said. "Even if I gave you the wrong impression that I was upset or being rude to you, I'm willing to bet that you had your suspicions or concern about me not really approving of your relationship with Rodrigo."

"Well, ya I did." She responded. "It would take a lot more for something like that to get past me." She continued with a confident smirk.

Alfonso simply smile. He wasn't surprised by her response.

"Well your instincts were proven correct." He confessed. "I'm not going to bother to lecture you on why I, as a parent, felt I had to do that. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I let my concern for my son blind me from trying to see the real you, or a more deeper you, let's say. I essentially saw in you, what I only wanted to see in you, which is not fair at all."

"Yes, Rodrigo did tell me about your issues at home. I don't think he told me everything, but he told me enough. But I should not have judged you so quickly. Despite what you have gone through, I know that you are also a strong person, with a good heart and a good head on her shoulders and that should be enough." He continued.

"Well um, er..." Helga attempted to say something, but was at a loss of words.

"So, I invited you here to apologize to you and to ask for your forgiveness." He said.

Five minutes ago, Helga would have unremorsefully given Alfonso a good piece of her mind. Throughout that entire week, Helga was angry at him for supposedly judging her so quickly. Granted, he was doing it out of concern for his son and Helga knew that if she were in his shoes, she would have probably have done the same thing. However, that hadn't made it any easier for Helga simply forgive and especially forget. But now, with Alfonso not only coming out clean about his past intentions, but even apologizing for it, Helga wasn't so sure on how she felt about it. She was mostly surprised, but should she really forgive him, or should really tell him what she felt about all of this?

*sigh* "It's ok Mr. Castile. There's nothing for you to apologize about either." Helga eventually replied. "I understand why you were concerned about Rodrigo and truthfully, your concern did have some merits. But I forgive you."

"Thank you, Helga." Alfonso said with a smile and extended his hand.

Helga smiled as well and shook his hand.

"Thanks for giving me a chance, Mr. Castile." She said.

"Oh please Helga. No need to be so formal anymore." Alfonso said. "Please call me Alfonso. Truthfully, these formalities are starting to make me feel old and boring."

"Oh man, I'm so glad you said that!" Helga exclaimed, feeling quite relieved. "It was making me feel old as well!" She remarked to which Alfonso chuckled.

"So Alfonso," Helga asked, "what's for dinner tonight?"

* * *

**Oh my God! I'm finally done writing this chapter! It took me many days, but I finally did it! Hope everyone enjoyed it.**

**Usually the stereotypical issue is that the son's mother would be hostile towards the girlfriend, for obvious reasons. But I didn't want to go to route, as I think it had already been done and because it would made things worse for Helga. I thought it was best to explore the notion of the father not really approving of Helga and what he thought it. Again, stereotypically, it is rarely shown of fathers disapproving of any of their son's girlfriend. It is usually the other way around; them disapproving for their daughter's boyfriend. But again, I wanted to explore that unknown part of a family.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Merely Aquiantences

Helga had her head, face down, on her desk, groaning with utter boredom in her current morning class.

_This class is so f****** boring!_ She irritatingly thought. _Crimeny, why did I ever decide to enroll in this class to study rocks?!_

Helga was in her geography class. Before the start of the year, as one of selectives, Helga had a few options from which she could choose; Calculus, Music, specifying in strings and Geology. Finding the first two options uninteresting or just a flat out no, Helga forcefully 'opted' to take Geology. Unfortunately, she never bothered looking at the actual course name, only the course code, which started with the letters, GEO. Thinking that the course was a geography course, Helga thought that it would not only be easy, but also thought that the course would introduce her not only to other countries, but also their landscape, forests, mountains, deserts; especially how the land made those countries what they are. Ya, this course was not that. Instead, it specified on studying sedimentary rocks and other minerals found in the earth. She failed to properly read the description of the course and when she realized her mistake, it was too late. She was stuck now, forcing her to study a course that she thought was more boring than watching yourself in the mirror as you aged.

"Now class," the teacher, Mr. Zaklowski began to announce to everyone, "I'm sure you all remember about our field trip coming up. I know that some of you have been anxiously waiting for this moment all year 'round."

"Sure we have teach." Helga silently groaned while still leaning on top of her desk.

"Our field trip is next week and it will be on Elk Island."

"Elk Island?" A student asked. "What's so special about Elk Island that you'd want to take us there, Mr. Zaklowski?"

"Good question Gabriel." Mr. Zaklowski said.

Helga just groaned.

_Please God, just kill me now._ She thought.

"To most of you, Elk Island may only be just an island, but it has certain unique sedimentary formations that you won't find anywhere else within hundreds of miles from there." Mr. Zaklowski explained.

"What kind of sedimentary?" Another student asked.

"That, you will find out at our field trip." Mr. Zaklowski said with a smile.

"Excuse me, sir." A female student raised her hand.

"Yes, Kim?" The teacher asked.

"Are we also going with the other classes on this trip?" Kim asked.

"Yes, definitely." The teacher responded. "We will be traveling together, there and back."

_Oh joy._ She thought annoyingly. _Just what I need, more students who have rocks on the brains._

**Meanwhile...**

_Oh man, why did I bother to even take this course?_ Gerald thought, as he struggled to maintain his focus in his class.

_I should have read the damn course description before I enrolled in it._ He thought annoyingly. _Had I known this course was about studying rocks, I never would have enrolled! And now, they have to take us to Elk Island to actually study rocks!_

"Well class, be sure you submit all permission slips within this week in order to be able to come to the trip." The teacher, Mrs. Wayow excitedly said, completely oblivious to the fact that almost none of her students were even remotely as excited as she was.

"What if we don't want to go to this trip?" A male student asked without even bothering to put his hand up.

"Then I'm afraid you will fail this course." Mrs. Wayow responded, becoming a bit more serious now. "This trip and the exercises that you will do, are part of your final marks. Consider this as your final exam. Instead of writing about rocks, you get to go out and study them."

That prompted some interest in some of the students, most of whom lifted their heads up, except Gerald. He virtually had no interest in learning about rocks, whether it was about studying them outright or reading about them. He simply groaned and slumped back into this chair, patiently waiting for the bell to ring.

_At least no one else that I know is having to put up with this._ He thought.

**Later that day...**

Gerald walked towards Phoebe's locker, who was waiting for him. Second period had now ended and it was lunchtime, much to Gerald's relief. The second his Geography class ended, he raced towards the door. Despite being at the very back of the class, he was the second person to leave the room. That's how much he hated it. Walking very fast, Gerald wasted no time in trying to get to his girlfriend, wanting to completely forget his second morning class and focus on things that are important to him.

Phoebe didn't have to wait long. Helga had just left to go and see Rodrigo at the lunchroom and with Gerald's speed walking, he arrived there in no time.

"Hey Pheebs." Gerald said as he arrived, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Hi Gerald." Phoebe responded softly, but happily. "How were your morning classes?"

"First class was ok. Second class...let's just say that I'm lucky to have a girlfriend. I have something to look forward to after it. Otherwise, I would have killed myself by now."

"Oh Gerald, you don't need to be so melodramatic." Phoebe said. "Your class on sedimentary rocks isn't that bad. I've read your textbook and frankly, I find it quite interesting."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that, Pheebs." Gerald said. "You can help me study for my final exam."

"I'd be delighted." Phoebe said smiling.

"Except, there isn't a final exam in this course because they are taking us on a field trip to Elk Island to actually study rocks!" Gerald sarcastically exclaimed.

"Oh really? That sound very interesting. Much better than on having to write a paper on sedimentary rocks." Phoebe said.

"I think you may have missed my sarcasm, Pheebs." Gerald said. "I don't care about rocks, or about this course. I just want it to end!"

"Don't worry Gerald. This year is almost finished and after this field trip, you will be done with this course and will not have to think anymore about it." Phoebe assured him.

"Thanks beautiful." Gerald said with a smile.

"But your field trip wouldn't be so bad." Phoebe then continued on. "Helga will be going on that same trip. She is taking the same course that you are taking."

"Really?" Gerald asked, surprised by this. "I didn't know she was interested in rocks."

"She isn't." Phoebe explained with a bit of a frown on her face. "Like you, she didn't read the course description properly and thought it was something else entirely."

"Oh." Gerald said embarrassingly.

Nevertheless, the thought of him having an opportunity to spend time with Helga, even if it is a trip about rocks, caught his attention and thought that perhaps...it will be worth the pain to perhaps bond with the two pigtail blonde girl.

Wait, bond?! Ever since Helga made her big confession to everyone back in March about her and Arnold, Gerald and Helga finally made their peace with each other and both thought that perhaps now they can finally be friends. Well, both soon realized that was easier said than done. They had been at each other's throats for so longer that both of them now felt awkward at now seeing each other in a less...adversarial light. During this whole transition, neither really knew what to say to each other, other than the typical 'hi' and 'bye' and it often felt very weird when one of them attempted to take the first step and open up.

One time in a morning before the bell rang, Gerald went by Phoebe's locker, but only found Helga instead. Phoebe had gone to her first class early, stating that she needed to speak with her teacher about an assignment and couldn't meet up with either of them. Wanting to use that opportunity to open up, Gerald walked with Helga for a bit in order to talk to her. Helga, although understanding what he was trying to do, felt incredibly weird by this move and said very little. It didn't help that Gerald was feeling very nervous when he walked with her. He felt as if he was trying to talk to a girl for the very first time and he couldn't understand why he felt nervous, other than perhaps fearing that he might accidently set her off, like what happened last time. She could see it clearly; he was stuttering when he attempted to say something and didn't even glanced at her when he talked. Luckily, Helga's class wasn't too far and scoodled into her room as fast as she could, although she did say 'bye' to him.

At another time, Helga also attempted to lighten things up between them by playing it cool. However, her uncanny to be straight word and assertiveness when talking made Gerald feel uncomfortable and at one point, thought she was verbally taking shots 'below the belt', as it were. It also didn't help that for some reason, she was trying to 'play it cool' a bit too hard. When she saw Gerald was starting to get upset, Helga had to immediately explain to him that she wasn't trying to attack, nor upset him and was only trying to be friendly. She even apologized to him, to the surprise of everyone. The last thing she wanted was to have any one of them revert back to their animosity. She succeeded in that, but just barely.

After these two incidents, neither of them attempted to take the initiative in attempting to lessen this growing awkwardness between them. The only time either of them were able to hold some form of conversation was when they were with their friends. As the weeks passed since that fateful March, it soon dawned on them that despite the years they had known each other, they knew very little about one another. It wasn't just them butting heads that was the sole culprit. It was also that, other than playing sports, they had very little in common with each other. Gerald had a more business-type of mentality and was great with people. Friendly, outgoing, charming, less judgmental than the average guy, smart. There wasn't anyone whom he met who didn't like him. Helga had a more literary, social scientific, type of mindset and unlike Gerald, had virtually little people skills. She had a sharp tongue, was witty, direct with others and often didn't smile, even when she was happy.

"Gerald? Gerald?!" His girlfriend called out to him, making him get out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh sorry Pheebs. You were saying?" He said.

"I asked you if are going to use that field trip to try and talk to her?" She asked again.

"Who, Helga? I don't know Pheebs. I try to talk to her, but every time I get close to her things are just...well..."

"Awkward?" Phoebe finished his sentence for him.

"Ya. I guess I can try one more time at the field trip, but I doubt it'll do any good."

**On the day of the field trip...**

Gerald was on the school bus that was taking him and his class to Elk Island. Despite his class going with other classes on the same trip, each class was designated its own bus. This suited Gerald just fine, as it gave him time to think.

Despite the various conversations that he had with Rodrigo, and despite finally coming to terms where he went wrong, Gerald still couldn't fathom how a relative newcomer like Rodrigo, who had not even been friends with them for a year, managed to be not only befriend, but even start going out with Helga?! He wasn't jealous of them dating, none at all. He was actually happy for them both. But if he had to be perfectly honest with himself, he was a little envious on how fast and 'easy' it was for Rodrigo to befriend Helga. After the cessation of their animosity in March, Gerald had been determined to become friends with her. He wasn't expecting to be close buddies, but he was expecting them be, at the very least, comfortable with each other. The fact that that had not even happened bothered Gerald to no end.

_Man, I still can't understand why it is so hard to be friends with Helga!_ He thought frustratingly. _It's not like she is pushing me away. I know that she has been trying too, but we can't even seem to get comfortable with each other._

_Does she really not like me? I mean, come on! Who doesn't like me?! I'm easy going, I get along with everyone I meet. So why can't I get along with her? Am I trying too hard? Should I even bother in doing anything on this trip? I'm not here to have fun. I do have an assignment to do._ He thought.

Eventually, the buses went into the parking lot where the port was and parked on one of the lanes. Once everyone got out and formed a line, the students, by class, then began to form a line and wait for the boat to take them to the island. During this time, Gerald tried to look for Helga, but she was nowhere in sight. It was difficult trying to find someone when there are about a hundred students around you. Eventually, he gave up on trying to find her and opted to talk to her when they got there.

The boat that was suppose to take them there soon arrived, allowing everyone to get on in one go. After a nice crossing, the boat arrived at the port that was on the island and everyone then got out.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there were barely any clouds and it was nice and warm. Many students, more concerned with the weather and the upcoming summer that was only just a few weeks away than their actual final marks, were not really dressed for the occasion. Many were wearing flip flops or sandals, while some female students were wearing shorts. Gerald was one of the few that came prepared for the occasion, yet even he couldn't deny his own desiring nature of wanting to spend some time on the island, enjoying the weather. Things would have been perfect, had it not been for this assignment that these teens were there to finish.

Upon arriving on Elk Island, Gerald went with his class as Mrs. Wayow prepared to deliver out the assignment.

"Ok class." She began excitedly, with an almost a high squeaky voice. "Here are your assignments. As we discussed this whole week, you are to put all of your knowledge that you've accumulated this year on trying to find these types of sedimentary rocks that are located throughout the island. Once you find them, excavate them and put them in these plastic bags. Remember to write your name on it and your class number in order to identify who is whose."

"Mrs. Wayow?" A male student raised his hand.

"Yes, Charles?" She asked.

"Are we allowed to work in teams?" Charles asked.

"Yes, you may." She answered. "So long as the group agrees that each person helped out, marks will be given to each and every one of them."

"Even those from the other classes?" Charles asked.

"Yes, you can team up with those from other classes." She answered.

_Seriously?!_ Gerald thought with shock. _You're telling us this now?! I could have asked Helga if she wanted to team up with me so we can get this stupid assignment done. Now I have to spend time trying to find her!_

Despite his annoyance on not knowing about this earlier, Gerald was intrigued by the thought of perhaps asking Helga to team up with him so they can finish this assignment as quickly as possible and perhaps even have time to enjoy being on the island.

After a short while, Mrs. Wayow began the assignment and each student began to disperse in order to find these sedimentary rocks.

Not much has changed in and around the island since they were kids. Sheena's Uncle, Earl, had retired as the boatman for ferrying passengers to the island. His son, also named Earl, took over the business. During the recent years, there had been serious interest about the island, either for its beauty, legends circulating about it, or because it gave a sense of adventure. As a result, tourists began to flock there, expanding Earl Jr.'s ferrying business, which now included a more modern port, with a bigger passenger boat to ferry tourists in their hundreds. Agatha Caulfield, the famous children writer and Arnold's favourite author, had recently passed way, but not before becoming a kind of a celebrity in Hillwood. After her death, her home was made into a small museum, dedicating it to her life and work. The replica of the British Fort Porcero, still stands and is still proudly used to hold the annual Pig War commemoration ceremony.

Gerald took a walk past Agatha's house, remembering the time when Arnold went to visit her to do an assignment about her. After reliving a bit of the nostalgia of his old best friend, he then began to walk again as he looked for Helga. None of the students were allowed to bring their phones. They had to leave them on the bus, so Gerald was now faced with the difficult task of trying to find one person throughout this entire island, and it just so happened to be that this same person probably did not want to be found.

After about one hour on trying to find Helga, Gerald was becoming frustrated and anxious. He had wasted an entire hour on trying to someone whom he had only, up until recently, had been trying for years to get away from. And now, when he wants to find her, she was nowhere to be found.

_How ironic._ Gerald thought to himself as he frowned. _I can't waste anymore time in trying to find Helga. I have to start doing this stupid assignment. My grade depends on it!_

Reluctantly, Gerald gave up on trying to find her just focused on his assignment. After reading the first sedimentary rock, he made his way towards the cave. He wasn't planning on going in there, but based on what the assignment said, it was where the first sedimentary rock that he was suppose to find, somewhere around it.

It didn't take Gerald long to reach the mouth of the cave that was still supposedly haunted by Wheezin' Ed. Fully remembering the time when he and everyone went into that cave in order to see if Wheezin' Ed actually existed, Gerald couldn't help but smile, now full immersed in nostalgia. He also remembered, quite sadly, when Arnold was here, all of the adventures they went through as a team. Even after that event, Gerald and Arnold sometimes visited the island, sometimes bringing Phoebe and Helga along, either in search of more adventures, or just enjoying a fun time on the island.

Gerald then shook his head hard and came back to reality. No longer wanting to waste anymore time, he then began to look down in order to find this first damned rocks that was on his list.

"Alrighty, what do we have here?" He said to himself as he walked around the mouth of the cave.

He walked and walked and walked, until...

"Wait a minute! Is that it?" He said as he pushed through two bushes to see that it was indeed the rocks that he was looking for.

"Alright! That didn't take too long." He said to himself happily. "If I keep up like this, I should be finished with this assignment in no time."

Taking his small pick axe, he bend down and began to excavate away at the rocks when suddenly,

"Gerald?" a voice suddenly called him.

"Ah!" A startled Gerald suddenly launched himself forward, almost hitting his head on the mountain wall and falling down on the floor. He immediately turned around to see who scared him and was surprised to see who it was.

"Helga?" He said.

"Doi doofus, who else would it be?" She said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here doing this stupid assignment. I'm in the same course as you are, just different class."

"I know that." Helga snapped back. "I meant what are you doing here?" As she pointed to where Gerald was sitting down.

"Duh, collecting rocks that are on my list." He retorted back as he got up and dusted himself.

Helga said nothing and glanced at Gerald as he got up. Then, she turned around to walk away.

"Hey!" Gerald then called out to her. "Where you going?"

"Where does it look like I'm going? I'm going to do this stupid assignment so I can get out of here." She responded.

"Well um, did you want to team up?" He suddenly but nervously asked her.

Helga said nothing and with wide eyes, began to glance at Gerald with an awkward, if not a suspicious look, a gesture which Gerald noticed. He acted fast.

"So we can get this assignment done faster. You know, two heads think better than one kind of thing."

After a bit of silence from her part, Helga just shrugged her shoulders and said,

"Sure, whatever." and then began to walk, bypassing Gerald and going to where he was excavating the rock that he found.

"So um, did you find anything else on your list?" Gerald asked.

"Nope." She said nonchalantly as she picked up a few sedimentaries for herself and Gerald.

"So what were you doing since we arrived here?" Gerald asked curiously and with a raised eyebrow

"Why are you interrogating me? What's your problem?" She snapped back as she got up with both plastic bags filled with the first rock.

"I wasn't interrogating you. I was just, ugh never mind. Sorry I asked." Gerald said while frowning, just looked at his list for the second rock.

"Ok, the second sedimentary that we are suppose to get should be near the lake...I think it should be over there." He suggested.

"Ok." Was all Helga said.

Both teens than began to walk towards the water.

_Man, I hope this works_. Gerald thought.

**Two hours later...**

"This is what I get for teaming up with you!" Helga angrily shouted at Gerald as they came back to the mouth of the cave.

"We have been walking around for hours and still have not found that last stupid rock!" She continued.

"Why are you yelling at me? You're the one that wanted to take the lead and make us go around in circles." Gerald snapped back. "I wanted to go the other direction."

"That other direction leads us back to the boats!" Helga shouted. "For a guy you sure suck with knowing your way around."

"I do know where I am going!" Gerald angrily snapped back. "It's along the way towards the boats. We would have reached there if you haven't been so stubborn in going the wrong way!"

"Hey, I was the one that found most of these stupid rocks on this list!" Helga snapped back. "You should be thankful!"

"Sure, if you consider on having to hear you complain nonstop and not even listening to me, it seems like a steep price." Gerald retorted back.

"You know what? Screw you!" Helga angrily shouted back. "You're the one who wanted to 'team up', remember?!"

"And I'm regretting on even asking you!" Gerald shouted back. "I thought that if we teamed up, we could get this stupid assignment faster and that we can, we can just..."

"We can what?!" She shouted at him.

"Oh forget it! You wouldn't care and even if you did, it's just damn near impossible to be around you!" He angrily shouted.

"Excuse me? You want to go back to how things were, bucko?" She snarled at him, getting her fists ready to meet the side of Gerald's cheeks.

Gerald however was unfazed.

"Pfft, like things have ever changed between us since March."

"That's it! I'm not going to just stand here and put up with your crap any longer! You can go to Hell!" She angrily yelled and walked away from him.

Furious, Helga walked right inside the cave, leaving Gerald on his own, himself now utterly frustrated at how badly things have turned out today.

Throughout the entire time they were partners, Helga had been a constant thorn on Gerald's side. Although no longer taking any verbal jabs at him, not usually at least, Helga's comments or remarks, whether at him or in general were often...less optimistic. Gerald tried to ignore it and attempted to just have a conversation with her. Although it sometimes worked, Gerald was unable to get fully comfortable around Helga. He was under constant surveillance and tension, always carefully crafting his words in order to not set Helga off. Even on this field trip, Helga never seemed to be in a relaxing mood, which only worsened his anxiety. She seemed tense, but that's what usually happens when something bothered her. Eventually, like always, it started becoming tiresome. Essentially, Gerald just could not stand her attitude. It wasn't just cynical. It was just so realistic that Helga seemed to make no room for any glimpse of optimism. This was especially apparent whenever Gerald took the lead to find the rocks that were on the list. Helga not only criticized, but also gave Gerald almost no sense of encouragement on trying to find them. If anything, she did the exact opposite. It's as if she didn't trust him at all. Eventually, all of this became emotionally draining for Gerald. The worst part about all of this was that Helga's entire behaviour during that day wasn't anything over the top. She was just being her normal self, relatively speaking.

It was no wonder then that after enduring this torture for over two hours, it finally set him off, a fact that he was now regretting. After growling and slapping his face with this hand, Gerald then followed suit and entered the cave. After walking a bit deep into the cave, he saw Helga.

"Helga look, I'm sorry Ok? I didn't mean what I said." He said as she approached her.

"Gerald wait, stop walking!" Helga instantly warned him.

"Oh come on, I'm just trying to apologize ok? Can you at least hear me out?" He quickly responded and continued to get closer to her.

"No seriously Gerald! Stop walking before the groun...!" Helga attempted to warn him but it was too late.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Both teens yelled in shock and horror as the ground quickly gave way from beneath their feet and both fell down through a hole.

"Oh! OW! Ooff!" Both teens grunted as they continued to fall and roll over. Both attempted to grab on to something, anything to stop their tumbling, but it was no good.

Finally, after falling some feet into the ground, both teens then emerged from the tunnel and out they fall into what looked like a hug hole that was deep inside the cave.

"Whoa!" Helga fell onto the ground first, followed by Gerald who landed right on top of her.

"Ooff!" Helga exclaimed as she felt the full weight of Gerald's body land right on top of him.

"Get off of me!" She groaned as she took a gap right into Gerald's side, forcing him to slide down and roll over on his back.

"Oh great." She groaned.

"You ok?" Gerald asked as he got up first and then extended his hand to help Helga.

"Ya, I'm fine." She grunted as she took his hand to help herself up.

_No thanks to you._ She thought.

Once the dusted settled, both looked around to see where they were

"You gotta be kidding me!" Gerald exclaimed.

After scanning around, an eerie feeling started permeating inside them, causing them to tense up and breath a bit heavily. All around them, they saw nothing but boulders, rocks and mud. Where ever they landed, this mini cave looked almost like a dome, but it was not completely enclosed. There was only a hole on top of the roof, allowing light to shine through, but given the shape of the cave, there was no way they can ever reach it.

"Help! Is anybody there?!" Gerald yelled at the top of his lungs.

"We're down here and trapped!" Helga also yelled.

"HELP!" Both teens yelled hard, but none came, although that didn't stop them from trying again.

After twenty minutes of constant yelling, both teens then went silence, their throats becoming sore and their mouths dry. Despite their yelling, none heard them.

"Damn it! I guess we're on our own." Helga said.

"Is there no way out?!" Gerald exclaimed with fright in his voice.

"No..." Helga said softly. "Except from where we fell."

Without saying anything else, Helga quickly attempted to get into the tunnel and tried to climb up. The hole was big enough for her crawl back in, but it soon quickly elevated to such an at extent that Helga started having trouble climbing up. There virtually nothing to grab on and because its walls were muddy, she kept on slipping.

"Don't just stand there Gerald. Push me up!" Helga shouted as she continued to struggle.

"Oh ok." Gerald said and crawled into the hole. He looked to see how he can grab her. He tried to grab her feet and pushed her up. It worked,

"Damn it! The hole is too deep. I can't reach the top." She said. "Can you push me up some more?"

"I'm trying but the walls are muddy and slippery. I can't push you up anymore." He responded as he struggled to hold her. "Plus you're a bit heavy."

"Hey! Just keep pushing me." She exclaimed, frowning at the fact that he just called her fat.

Gerald tried to put his foot deep into the muddy wall and used that as leverage to push him and her up while leaning against the wall. It worked.

"Keep doing that Gerald!" She said to him. "We're not far. You can do it!"

_Finally, some encouragement_. He thought as he took another deep step into the muddy wall and lifted him and her up again.

After taking his third step into the wall, that part was very muddy and Gerald was unable to get a firm grip. Again he tried to stick his foot on another part of the wall, but to no avail.

"What's taking so long?" Helga impatiently asked him.

"I can't get my foot into the wall." He called out. "It's too muddy."

"Well, keep trying!" She snapped back to him.

Gerald again tried to get a firm grip. This time, it seemed to have worked. After testing it out, he then put his weight on it and attempted to push Helga up again. However, just as he was doing that, the bottom that was holding Gerald up gave way and he slipped.

"Whoa!" They both yelled as they both lost their balance and slid back and into the big hole.

This time, Gerald landed first, followed by Helga who landed on top of him.

"Oof!" Both exclaimed.

Both stayed on the ground for less than a minute and groaned, feeling exhausted, wet and cold.

Helga then rolled over and for a while both stayed on the ground, facing up, breathing heavily. They were tired, covered in mud from their escape attempt, frustrated, but also, getting a bit scared at their predicament.

Helga then suddenly got up and attempted to try again. Wasting no time, she used her fingers to pierce deep into the muddy walls and attempted climb up. For a while, it seemed to work and Helga was kept going up and up until...

"Whoa! Damn it not again!" She yelled as she slipped and slipped right back down.

Angry and with a snarl on her face, Helga again tried to get out through the tunnel, but again, slid right back down.

Gerald watched with a both sense of amazement, but growing sadness at Helga's determined, but futile attempts to get out through the tunnel. If there was one thing that Gerald had always admired about her, it was her tenacity, or stubbornness if you want call it, to not give up and use all of her strength to get out of any bad situation that she found herself. Only this time, not even Helga's own determined stand to get out was enough and she continued to slid back down.

"GGRRRRRRR! DAMN IT!" She yelled angrily and took a punch at the wall. Again, she tried to get out but again, she slipped and slide back down.

No longer wanting to see her suffer like this, Gerald then approached her from behind and just before she was about to try again,

"Helga, it's ok. Let's just calm down a bit and we'll figure this out." He said to her. Poor choice of words.

"Ok?!" She angrily yelled at him. "How is any of this OK?! We fell down into a big-ass hole, we can't get out and no one knows that we are missing!"

"This is all your fault!" She continued to yell at him.

"Wha...are you joking me?! How is any of this my fault?!" Gerald yelled back with a shocking, but growing angry look on his face.

"If you hadn't followed me into the cave...!" She began to yell at him.

"I wouldn't have followed you if you hadn't gone into that cave in the first place!" Gerald angrily shouted back at her, not waiting to let her finish.

"I wouldn't have gone into that cave if you hadn't pissed me off in the first place!" She yelled back at him.

"Which is exactly what you were going to me for two damn hours!" He yelled back.

Both of them then went silent and simply glared at each other, their eyes each trying to pierce the other, ready to see who would take the first shot and quickly counter. Yet, none moved and just continued to glare at each other. Finally, seeing as how none of them were willing to start a brawl, both then took a step back and walked away from each other, going on opposite ends of the small cave, leaned against its walls and sat down, all a while still frowning at each other.

**One hour later...**

Neither of them moved from their spot. They had eventually stopped their glaring at each other and just either looked around, started at the ground floor, watching or listening to the drips of water come into the cave; that being the only thing breaking the absolute silence that would have otherwise dominated. Occasionally, they would even go back to glare at each other again. But none said a word to each other during that whole time, despite that the silence was now becoming increasingly awkward.

Gerald for his part, had completely given up on trying to even talk to Helga. Furious that his attempts yielded worse results, he just sat there, determined not to speak to her for the rest of the day.

_I have had it with this girl!_ He thought bitterly. _Who does she think she is? Here I was, thinking I can bond with her, to actual try and be her friend, heck I even tried to apologize for blowing off on her like that, and she accused me of putting us in this predicament!_

_I seriously don't know what her problem is?! Problem? I don't know what my problem is with her? Why can't I just relax and act normal around her, like how Arnold and Rodrigo do? I'm one of the coolest guys in our school, I get along with everybody. Heck, I even get along well with the teachers. So why can't I get along with this one?! Worse, why am I even trying?!_

Gerald just sat there silently, playing with a few rocks on his hands, frowning when suddenly,

"When do you think they will start searching for us?" Helga asked, breaking the silence between the two.

Gerald looked up with a surprised look on his face and for a moment, was not sure if he even wanted to respond to her.

"It'll probably be at the end of the day, when they do the head counts and realize that we are not there." He decided to respond.

"Great." She groaned and just slumped down.

While Helga was looking elsewhere, Gerald glanced her with a raised eyebrow. He knew her well enough to know that she never would have asked such an obvious question. She knew the answer herself. Heck, if he had asked her that, she would have scoffed at him.

_Is this her way of trying to talk to me?_ He thought. In the end, Gerald didn't buy it and just continue to sit there in silence, looking away.

After a while,

"I know it wasn't not your fault for getting us down here." She said to him again.

Again, Gerald looked her with a surprising face.

_Is this her way of trying to apologize?_ He thought. He wasn't sure.

"Thanks..." Was all he said rather confusingly, although still having no desire to talk to her.

Helga noticed this. After physical adjusting herself a bit,

"Look, I know you were trying to uh...be friends with me today...and I just want to say that I appreciate it."

"You...do?" Gerald asked, again surprised. That caught his attention.

Helga nodded.

"I know we've never been close and we are only acquainted because of our best friends. But I meant what I said back in March; about us being friends. We are friends, Gerald. You don't need to go through this much trouble in order to prove that." She said.

Gerald initially just rubbed the back of his neck, as he carefully crafted his words once again in order to explain to Helga what he has been feeling about their 'friendship'.

"That's the thing Helga; if we really are friends, or anywhere close to that, then it should be no brainer for us to be able to just talk to each other or even hang out. I don't expect us to have long conversation, but at least say things to each other, other than simply 'his' and 'byes'. But I've always felt there is this gap between us that we were never able to bridge. After your confession in March, I thought for sure that things would now be different and that gap would disappear. But it hasn't. It's still there." He explained.

Helga knew exactly what he was talking about. She too had been feeling that same gap between them and like Gerald, thought that by confessing about her relationship with Arnold, they can finally alleviate themselves from it and just let go all of that animosity and tension between them. Like Gerald, Helga couldn't fathom how she was not able to become friends with him. Everyone liked him and wanted to be around him. He was such a relaxed, cool-headed, smart kind of person.

_So what can't I be friends with him?_ She thought.

She knew why. Like Gerald, she was never able to relinquish that awkwardness she'd always felt around him. She had always seen Gerald as a very judgmental person, who seemed to have never pass up on an opportunity to always reminder of her of the type of person that she will always be; as a rude, hot-tempered, unloving and sadistic person. Now, she was expected to not only let that all go, but even see him as, well, the exact opposite of that. It was a tough and overwhelming change, one which she still had a tough time wrapping her head around. It wasn't that she was unwilling to let all of that animosity go; she did, much to her relief. It was just that she had a tough time seeing Gerald as that exact opposite person than from how she used to see him prior, a fact which caused her to be extremely awkward around him. And being the one who can only tolerate so much, which was usually not very much, she ended up doing what she always does when someone bothers her; remaining cold and distant, if not hostile. Much to her disappointment, the only thing her confession accomplished was to let go of their animosity toward each other, but not allowed it to fill that 'gap'.

"Maybe we're just not cut out to be friends." She finally said to him.

"What?" He asked.

"Think about it, tall-hair boy. We have very little in common. Our personalities are different. What's there to really establish any lasting friendly connection between us?

Gerald pondered about that for a minute, although he knew almost immediately that Helga was right. But he was wondering where she was going with this.

"And maybe...that's ok." She continued. "There are some people whom we feel a connection and are able get close to, while there are others whom we have a...less connection to. Maybe we can't be good friends, but perhaps we can be...good acquaintances."

"Acquaintances?" Gerald asked confusingly.

Helga, with a bit of a smile, nodded

"Ya I mean, what's wrong with being acquaintances? We don't have to be friends and I think that's the problem. We believe that just because were in the same group of friends, we feel that we need to be friends, lest things become awkward, which they are. Who says that we need to be friends with everyone? I think if we just abandon this idea of being friends and just focus on just being good acquaintances, then maybe this awkwardness will disappear. That doesn't mean that we won't talk to each other or not hang out. We still can. Being acquaintances doesn't mean that we ignore each other. And who knows? Perhaps if that works, then somewhere down in the future, we can actually become friends."

"I...guess so." He agreed, albeit with some hesitation.

Then, silence once again gripped the area around them. It seemed that neither teenager knew what else to say to each other after Helga's bold analysis of their 'relationship'. Well, at least she didn't know what else to say. Gerald on the other hand, had something on his mind that he had been wanting to say to her for quite some time. He just never knew how to properly say it, nor was the time there for him to say anything to her. But now it seemed that this predicament gave him the space and time to fully say to her what he was on his mind.

"I just wish you told us earlier." He finally said.

"Told you what earlier?" She asked.

"About you and Arnold." He responded. "I wish I had known about it earlier. Perhaps things would have been different."

"How?" She asked.

"I would have cut you some slack." He responded. "When Arnold left, I knew you must have been hurting. But I could never understand why you isolated yourself like that. I knew it must have been painful for you to see him go, but given how we thought that you and Arnold were still in a relationship, I thought it couldn't have been that bad. What's more, because of our past rivalry, it never dawned on me that perhaps we, or I should have done more."

"But you did." Helga responded. "You called me a few times to either see how I was doing or to invite me to play sports with you or some other hanging out. It's not your fault that I didn't answer."

"I know." He said to her. "I don't know, it's just that when you told us in March that you and Arnold had broken up when he left, it was a complete shocker! I never even suspected it. You guys kept that secret well hidden from us. Even Phoebe didn't know! But when you did tell us, everything finally made sense. I completely understood why you isolated yourself like that. And...I also started feeling guilty."

"Come again?" Helga asked with a raised eyebrow. "What exactly do you have to feel guilty about?"

*sigh* "Look Helga, it's no secret that you were never my favorite person. During that time when you were depressed, I felt bad for you, enough for me to actually pick up the phone and call you a few times. I didn't do it for Arnold, or Phoebe. Actually, none of them ever asked me to call you or see how you were doing."

"Really?" She asked, feeing completely surprised.

Gerald just nodded.

"Um...thanks Gerald. I don't know what to say." Helga said with a surprised look on her face. This whole time she had thought that Gerald only contacted her because he was somehow pressured by either Arnold or Phoebe to do so. It had never occurred to her that Gerald would actually care about her, despite their rivalry.

"Don't thank me just yet. There's more." He said. "That empathy was just barely there. The rest of the times, it was bitterness. I had no desire to do anything else other than just to call you and even then, I hoped that you wouldn't pick up."

Gerald couldn't help but reveal a bit of sadness on his face as he told this story to Helga. He even looked away, feeling ashamed, a gesture that Helga noticed.

"But...when you told us about you and Arnold back in March, all of that bitterness suddenly went away." He continued. "I can't really explain it, but it felt like a huge burden was just suddenly lifted from my shoulders. On that day, I didn't see that angry, annoying, sharp-tongued girl I used to see. I just saw you; as a person who was hurt, that's it."

"When that happened, I thought back during first few years when Arnold left, and I started feeling guilty. Not just about feeling resentful, but also that, all I did was just to call you. I didn't do anything else. I chose not to do anything else. Anyway, long story short, I just wish you told us earlier so that I or any one of us could have done something more. I know you didn't ask for my help and truthfully, even I did try to help you more, I doubt you would have accepted it. But at least I could have tried. Who knows, I mean, perhaps if I did try to reach out to you more during that time, I may have done so at the 'right time'. And what if you did accept my help at that time? Who knows? Perhaps things would have been different between us..."

Helga then began to give Gerald a bit of a frown, to which Gerald quickly added,

"I'm not saying that you are at fault here, hehehe." He said with a nervous smile and chuckle. "I know you have your reasons. I'm just saying that I wish I knew about it earlier, that's all."

Despite being a bit aggravated that Gerald was indirectly placing the blame on her, Helga let go of her frown. In the end, Gerald did have a point; Helga chose not to tell anyone, not even her best friend. It was her choice to completely isolate herself like that. She couldn't blame Gerald for indirectly stating that.

*sigh* "It's ok. I know that I'm at fault. I gotta be honest; the times when you called me, I was surprised, but I didn't think it was you calling on your own free will. I thought that perhaps Phoebe or Arnold pushed you into it. Thanks. It was...nice of you to do that." She said with a bit of a smile.

"But there wasn't anything else you could have done." She continued. "After everything that I've put you through, I didn't deserve your help. You had every reason to stay away from me and no one can really blame you, not even Phoebe."

"I...guess." He said. "Hmm, is that perhaps why Phoebe never really pushed me to stop butting heads with you?" He asked.

"Yes." Helga bluntly answered. "There were times when Phoebe came to me, frustrated over how you couldn't see past my toughness. She kept on and on about how she and Arnold were able to, but not you and she couldn't really understand it."

"What did you say to her?" He asked.

"I asked her to put herself in your shoes, to see how you see and then to judge. It took her some time, but after thinking about it for a while, she understood your point of view. I don't know why she initially couldn't see it your way. It was pretty obvious. But that's why she never pushed you." She explained. "You're welcome." She said with a smirk.

"Well um...thanks." He said while scratching his head.

Then, both teens went silent for a bit, until,

"Hey, you know what, I think you're right." Gerald said.

"About?" She asked.

"About being just good acquaintances. We've been talking for a while now and this has been the most extensive and normal conversation we have had in, well...ever. That's an improvement." He said with a chuckle.

Helga just rolled her eyes and said,

"Of course I'm right. That's shouldn't be surprising to you anymore, tall-hair boy." She said confidently. "But...I'm glad that this seems to be working." She continued with a genuine smile.

Feeling a bit confident now,

"So what were you doing for a whole hour before you found me?" Gerald asked.

"Still interrogating me over that?" She retorted.

"Kind of, ya." He responded with a smirk, ignoring her retortion.

Helga frowned a bit at Gerald's sudden confidence, but not wanting to ruin this rather unique moment between them, she relented.

"I was thinking about the times when all four of us used to come here during the summer and the type of adventures we got ourselves in or whenever we came here just to get away from it all. They were...really good times; Me, Phoebe, Arnold...and you." She said with a smile.

"Really?" Gerald asked surprisingly, to which Helga nodded.

"I don't know about you, but those were one of the rare times when I actually enjoyed your company." She said. "There was no drama, no tension between us, everyone was having fun. I went to some of the areas where we used to relax and had fun."

Gerald chuckled a bit over what Helga said.

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." He said. "When I came to this cave, I remembered the time when we came here to look for Wheezin' Ed. Good times."

"Oh ya? Did Arnold say something about that night?" Helga asked suspiciously.

"Yup. He told me what you told him; that you were trying to confess your feelings for him." He responded with a smirk.

"Typical." Helga groaned as she pouted.

"But I also remembered the times when all four of us came here to have fun." Gerald continued. "I would have spent the entire time remembering, but we have that assignment to finish and I would prefer if I didn't take this stupid course twice."

"Amen to that." Helga said. "Although, given our little predicament here, it seems that we might have to take it a second time." She groaned.

"Ya." Gerald said. Suddenly, Gerald had a thought, and was on the verge of telling Helga about it when at the last second, he realized that his idea was a mistake and silenced himself. Helga however, took notice of Gerald's sudden physical movement and realized that he was about to say something.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything." He said.

"You were about to say something." She said. "So spill it out."

"It's nothing."

"Gerald." She said firmly.

"What? I said it's nothing." He said.

"Gerald!" She yelled, losing her patience.

"Alright, alright. I was going to say, but then realized that it's probably too soon, that perhaps all four of us can take a trip to Elk Island." He said.

"Who's the fourth person?" Helga asked suspiciously.

"Well, Rodrigo." He responded a bit shyly.

Helga then instantly regretted in forcing Gerald to tell her what was on his mind and almost immediately felt a surge of anger growing inside her. However, she managed to repress it, knowing that it was not his fault that he told her and she was not going to take it out on him. Not this time.

"That sounds nice, Gerald," She said while grinding her teeth, "but like you said, it's too soon."

"Yeah." Was all he said, feeling a bit guilty for even thinking about it.

"But let's not throw that idea away." Helga then suddenly said. "It really is a good idea and we should take Rodrigo here. He's never been on this island. It's just...not now."

Gerald looked at her with a bit of a surprise on his face. He was expecting her scoff at him for the idea, but instead simply declined to do it for now. No yelling, no calling names.

"Sure, no problem Helga." He said with a smile.

"Hello?!" A male voice was suddenly heard. It came from the hole that was on top.

Gerald and Helga instantly got up and began to yell.

"Hey! We're down here!" Gerald yelled.

"Down here! Get us out of here!" Helga also yelled.

"Keep yelling!" The male voice cried back. "We'll find you!"

Both teens did as they were told and continued on yelling. It took the rescue team some time to find the hole, but they eventually succeeded.

"Is everyone alright?" The adult male called as he peek into the hole.

"Ya, we're fine. Just get us out of here!" Gerald yelled.

"Hold on, we're coming to get you." The man said and then disappeared.

The two teens waited impatiently for the guy to return. They didn't have to wait long. After a while, noises was heard and then the man reappeared, this time slowly going down into the hole. He was being hoisted by a rope that was around him, as the rest of the rescuers slowly led him down into the muddy dome.

Once down there, the man ensured that neither teen was hurt. Once convinced, he tied Helga first with his climbing gear. Once fastened, he signaled for his team to pull up, which they began to do so. After getting to the top, he unbuckled Helga and then went to get Gerald.

Despite being unhurt, both teens were given medical care and quickly taken to a First Aid centre that was on the mainland. Despite the cave being somewhat damp, they were cold, but not frozen. They mostly complained about being dehydrated and hungry, but other than that were unscathed.

"You kids were lucky." One of the paramedics said to them. "That cave has become dangerous to go into. It has been known for the ground to give way to a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms, as well as rock slides."

"If it was so dangerous, why weren't there any signs alerting people of it?!" Helga retorted with a growl.

"There were." The man replied. "But either the signs would get taken down by delinquent kids, or the strong winds would sometimes rip them from their stand. After what you both went through, we'll be completely fencing that entrance to that cave to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Both teens said nothing and just tightened their blankets that were covering them. Both of them thought, despite the severity of their situation, they were kind of glad that they went through it. Both teens used that time to really sit down and clear things that were still creating tension between them and much to their relief, it worked. While sitting there in silence, both teens looked at each other and for the first time, smiled, acknowledging to one another that they were both thinking the same thing and how this experience brought them just a little more closer together.

**Later that day...**

_...and that's the whole ugly story, football head. It was a day full of nostalgia and self-reflection, all awhile almost getting killed inside a cave that brought many memories of our time together._

_However, yes my naive little football headed friend, there is a but. Despite almost our precarious situation, Gerald and I were kind of glad that we went through it. That experience succeeded in bringing us just a bit closer together than all of your and Phoebe's attempts combined. How sad is that! I don't think we are friends. Well, at least not yet. But we were at least able to agree on something and for the first time, just enjoy each other's company. It was nice, really. For the first time in a long time, I actually enjoyed Gerald's company._

_Well, that is seeming the cure; if you want me to get closer to someone, just have us go through a near-death experience and lock us in a room together with no way out. Either we would have killed each other, or come out disliking each other less. We probably should have done this a long time ago. It would have saved everyone countless headaches!_

_Gerald came up with the idea of taking Rodrigo to Elk Island with the rest of us. It wasn't a bad idea, but I told him that it was too soon. I'm...not ready to let go of those memories of us being together there. It was our little paradise, so I know you'll understand. But I also know that you'll understand why I'll eventually have to let those memories go. Just...not yet._

_I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while. It's not that I have been too busy. It's just that I wasn't comfortable in telling you about how things are going with Rodrigo. Talk about awkward, right? But if you must know, things are going well between us. He really makes me happy. I'll leave it at that._

_On another positive note, Gerald and I passed our stupid assignment. Even though we never really finished it, our teachers thought that because of our little 'adventure', they felt that we deserved a good mark, though I'm pretty sure they were trying to bride us from attempting to sue the school for endangering the students. Hmm, it might not be such a bad idea. I'm considering on telling Bob about it. we could get a big payload, hehehehehe._

_Hope things are going well there in the jungle, with the heat and the poisonous animals that can instantly kill you! Seriously Arnold, do you have a death wish or something? Please be careful._

_You're cave dweller,_

_Helga G. Pataki_

* * *

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wrote this chapter based on Helga's and Gerald's relationship in the show which truthfully, in my view, is non-existent. In the TV series, Gerald makes very little attempt to hang out, much less talk to Helga and with good reason. Given her unorthodox personality and characteristics, as well as her aggressive and bullying nature, it's no wonder that Gerald wants to have little to do with Helga. The only times I've seen them interacting was when they are either hanging out with their friends, or if they each are in need of something, such as in the JM! when both of them wanted to help Arnold in winning that contest. But there is almost no interaction with just between them. Helga also makes little attempt to hang out with Gerald, mostly because I think she knows he judges her like every other kid does and so wouldn't want to hang out with someone like him.**

**Even in some of the stories that I have read, there is almost no interaction, or any formulation of any relationship between Helga and Gerald. I think it may have also something to do that their personalities just differ up to the extent that I think they have very little in common with each other. Other than their passion for sports, there is nothing else for them to talk about, at least based on the TV series and two movies.**

**Well, let me know what you guys think about this.**


	13. Chapter 13 - A Life in San Lorenzo

It was a Thursday night. It was late, but Arnold Shortman continued working at his parents' lab, cleaning many of the equipment and experimental tools and measuring glass. It had been a long day and he was exhausted, but he couldn't stop. He had to finish everything before leaving the lab that night in order for work to continue on the next day. They were behind schedule on delivering any results to their superiors and were becoming impatient. Arnold and his parents couldn't afford any further delays, so like a trooper, he marched on.

Worse still, he still had homework to finish after this and although some of them he wasn't required to hand in, there were a few that were due the next day. So, he had to do them before he went to sleep that night.

Such was the life of Arnold for the past three years; a life of constant moving, working before the required age, all while going to school, with very little time to socialize. He missed his friends terribly and longed for a chance to a kid again. Yet, despite the psychological and emotional toll this lifestyle had on him, he didn't regret his decision to leave Hillwood and...Helga in order to be with his parents. Very reluctantly, he had come to terms with that notion, especially after his talk with Helga on March Break. As far as he was concerned, getting the chance to travel and get to know his parents after almost a decade absent was a life fulfilled. At least that's what he initially thought.

And now, therein laid the problem. He had achieved what he set out to do. With his parents being his only companions, he had gotten to know them pretty well during those last years, which only served to draw him ever closer to them. He should be happy, he should have no worries, or agitation of any sort. Well, he was happy, but during the past week or ago, he had been feeling rather, well...blah. He had been agitated and anxious lately. He had not been able to sleep properly during the past few days. As a result, he developed bangs under his eyes. Something was clearly bothering him.

_I hope he comes today._ Arnold thought anxiously, as he continue cleaning the inside of a medical machine.

_He usually comes in the morning. I wonder what caused him to be late. Will he even arrive at all?_ He continued to think.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Surprised and excited, Arnold quickly stopped what he was doing and went to the door. Rather nervously but also excitedly, he unlocked and opened the door.

"Buenas noches, Arnold." (Good evening, Arnold.) The mail carrier said to the young teen.

"Buenas noches Señor Gutiérrez." (Good evening, Mr. Gutierrez.) Arnold politely responded.

"Disculpa por me tardanza." Señor Gutiérrez said. "Tenía que repartir mi correo en otras partes de la cuidad antes de venir aquí." (Forgive my tardiness. I had to deliver my mail to other parts of the city before I came here.) He explained as he gave Arnold the mail.

"Oh, no te preocupes, Señor Gutiérrez. Gracias por venir hoy" (Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Gutierrez. Thank you for coming today.) He lied as he grabbed the mail and gently closed the door as Mr. Gutierrez left.

Arnold was in fact irritated that the mail carrier 'chose', out of all days, to go to other parts of the city first. However, ever the sweet and kind hearted person that he always was, he would never dare demonstrate his aggravation at Mr. Gutierrez.

Arnold walked back into the lab and put the mail on a table as he went back to finishing his task. However, anxious to see what mail awaited, Arnold barely began his work again when he got up, went back to the table, grabbed the mail, sat down and scanned through them. After scanning through them, his hopes were quickly dashed as he realized to his dismay that he received no mail from either of his friends. His face gave way to a sad, but frowning appearance.

_It's only been two weeks since I saw them in Hillwood._ Arnold tried to reassured himself in thought. _I'm sure they will send their letters soon. They are back at school now, so they must be busy._

As much as Arnold tried to remain positive, he vividly remembered when he first left Hillwood, no sooner had he begun to settle down in the first city with his parents when he received emails from all his friends, except Helga. And it did not just contained just one page, but rather a few pages, with great detail on how things were in Hillwood since he left. Arnold was rather surprised by these sudden emails he got from his friends, but was nevertheless happy, as it showed him how deeply they missed him.

Now, after almost three years, with those emails converting into letters, Arnold had been receiving less and less of them. It started out rather slowly at first. Arnold hardly noticed it and the times when he did, he simply brushed it off as nothing serious. However, after two years, the infrequency of the letter became apparent, so much so that he could not ignore it, nor ignore the growing uneasiness that he was feeling. Yet, there was little that he could do it. Besides, it's not like he had a lot of time to read them, much less respond to them. During the first year, Arnold sometimes got so overwhelmed with the amount of emails he got, that it sometimes took him some weeks before he got a chance to respond back.

Despite the uneasiness, he remained positive about it and knew that eventually, they will send him a letter.

_But right now, I have work to finish at the lab_. He thought. _*sigh* then homework._ He groaned in thought.

Putting his thoughts aside, Arnold went back to his work and finished up for tonight.

Arnold had only recently moved to the capital of San Lorenzo, San Lorenzo city, during the summer of last year. It was a city of a million people. Given the country's small population, it was huge. In some ways like Hillwood, the capital city had a distinction between rich and poor, although it was much more profound. Yet the city was the heart of the country, with most of its financial and manufacturing facilities and enterprises situated there. It was also where most of the scientific studies and research was done, as the city housed most of the facilities and equipment needed to research and study. It was precisely that reason why Arnold and his parents decided to settle there, rather than to another American city. It was close to the jungle where they needed to obtain much of their specimen for research, while also being near to a laboratory where they can do their research.

The city was built was upon an old Mayan citadel. After the Spanish conquest of the region, a few conquistadores came across this old, abandoned and semi-ruined city. Despite it being virtually abandoned, the Spanish soon learned of its strategic importance and began to re-settle the city, except they started erecting their own architecture on top of the old Mayan ruins. Soon enough, it grew to eventually become the country's capital after gaining its independence from Spain and later, Mexico.

As the days continued to go by, Arnold has been thinking about another thing that still bothered him. Unlike his worry about his friends sending him their letters, this one hit close to home. Ever since his first visit to see his friends back in mid-March, Arnold had been struggling to come to grips with the fact that Helga had found...someone else. Although granted, he felt a bit better now than he did back in March; it still stung. Despite his attempts, it had not left his mind, nor his heart. He would constantly think about it, trying to wrap his head around on how it all came to be.

Yet, the answer was very simple. It was he who broke up with her before he departed Hillwood with his parents. Helga didn't want the break up and vividly, and somberly remembered how desperately she tried to change his mind. Not even the tears and the begging from her succeeded in that. He remained firm and ended things with her on his last day in Hillwood. Why? To give her a chance to move on. Arnold knew her well enough to know that Helga would wallow in her own sadness and emptiness as she waited for him to return. But he had no intention of returning and because of that, would not allow Helga to waste her life on waiting for him, just as she already waited to be with him since she was three years old! He couldn't allow it. He couldn't do that to her. It was not fair to her to wait for something that was not destined to return. She needed to move on, she needed to start her own life without him. Yet, he knew that despite her being a strong person, this was a bridge too far, and she wouldn't be able to do it on her own. He had to do it for her, and so he did, without even consulting her. He essentially had no one to blame but himself.

Helga was devastated when he told her that it was over. He could tell it in her eyes that he had just literally crushed her entire world on that day. He hurt her deeply when he did it and although he reframed from showing it to her, Arnold cried on the plane after, not just for the amount of guilt that he felt, but also that he loved her. He didn't want to break up with her. He even thought about taking her with him, but he knew that this lifestyle was nowhere near suitable for her. The constant moving and wanting to get to know his parents more would have created a whole series of stress and unhappiness in her. And so relented in ending things with her. He didn't just break her heart on that day; his also broke.

Yet, despite his own loss, Arnold knew that precisely because Helga was a strong and resilient person, she would eventually bounce back and to his surprise, she did!

_I just didn't know she would actually do it!_ He thought to himself selfishly.

That last thought left a sour taste in his mouth and he immediately felt guilty for thinking so selfishly. But, he couldn't help it. He hadn't felt this...jealous since the fourth grade; when he liked Lila Swayer. Just like how back in the fourth grade, he understand, let alone stand how Lila managed to fall for his cousin, Arnie, Arnold couldn't understand how Helga managed to find someone else; Rodrigo.

_Am I really jealous of them?_ He thought to himself. _I must be; it's the same feeling I had when I saw Lila liking Arnie. _

He was jealous during that whole week when he visited Hillwood, he was jealous when he said goodbye to everyone, including Helga and Rodrigo and he jealous still. But...there was nothing that he could do. The choice was made long ago and despite his attempts to reverse them, Helga had made her decision and he would respect that.

_This is only a temporary thing._ He thought to himself. _I know that after a while, I'll feel better about it and I will feel comfortable in seeing them together. Things always have a way of working themselves out._

More days went by, until it was finally the weekend; a breather for him. Well, sort of. Usually on the weekends, he got to travel from the capital to the jungle, but he wasn't going there to have fun. Arnold would usually accompany his parents to the jungle in order to collect more specimens, often collecting them himself. Recently, he had discovered, or rather re-discovered, a passion that he had not done in quite a while; helping others. In order to get to the jungle, he and his parents had to first go to some of the most isolated communities, devoid of any electricity or cleaned running water. From there, they would ask the locals to take them to certain areas. It was during on one of these missions earlier in the year when Arnold encountered an international non-profit organization (INPO) that was helping a local community in distributing clothes, tools and other accessories, as well as helping them construct better houses. Arnold, intrigued with what they were doing, approached one of the leaders of this organization and offered his help.

After receiving his parents' permission and signing up with them, Arnold and his parents would try to go to the local community where the INPO was at and coordinate Arnold's schedule between helping his parents and the INPO. It was a good working arrangement. The INPO had good connections with some members of the communities that they help and would often connect Arnold's parents with someone who had knowledge of the fauna and specific flowers that they were looking for. Two pointers!

On one of these encounters, Arnold was with this parents and Eduardo, driving to a village that was literally in the middle of nowhere.

"Are we there yet?" Arnold asked.

"Almost son." His father, Miles responded.

True to his word, the village appeared. It wasn't his first time there. Actually, he had quite frequently visited the area multiple times with this parents.

"Eduardo, do you think Marice will be there?" Arnold asked.

"Yes, Arnold. She arrived yesterday." Eduardo confirmed.

Soon enough, the vehicle approached the main square of the village and everyone got off. Eduardo, Miles and Stella immediately set off to find the person that will take them to where they needed to go. Arnold on the other hand, went to find his friend, Marice. It didn't take him long to find her.

"Arnold!" She yelled as she ran up to him.

"Marice! Ooof!" He said, just as she ran up and collided with him, embracing him with a very tight hug.

"Es muy bien a verte otra vez! Te extrañe" (It's so good to see you again! I missed you.) She said to him without letting go.

"Marice...No puedo respirar." (Marice...I can't breathe.) He gasped as he tried to get some air.

"Oh, perdón Arnold." (Oh, I'm sorry Arnold.) She said as she quickly let him go, allowing him to breathe.

Marice was only a few months younger than him, and were in the same grade, although they did not go to the same school. Living in another city, they only met because Arnold joined the non-profit organization that Marice also volunteered in and it was during on one of their missions at another village where they met for the first time.

Being a bit shorter than Arnold, Marice was a beautiful teen, with long black hair that a person could get lost in. Her skin had a soft brown tone. She was skinny, but had a bit of nice curves. Her voice was soft when she spoke, but was no in way a quiet person. She was very smart, with dreams on becoming an engineer. Like Arnold, she had a big heart to help others and was honing on her skills in constructing houses and other buildings.

It was also no secret that she liked Arnold...a lot. Ever since they met, she had been giving him strong hints and indications of her affection towards him. It was completely obvious. Even his parents noticed how this Latina would often follow Arnold around. So what did Arnold think about her?

He wasn't interested. No longer the naive person he once was, he instantly recognized Marice was infatuated with him and made every attempt to make it politely known to her that he had no intention of going out with her. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive, far from it. His heart just laid with someone else.

A few weeks before he was scheduled to go back to Hillwood in March, Arnold decided to finally confront Marice about it and inform her directly that he liked someone else, someone whom he was initially with and broke it off, much his regret. It was not fair for her to pursue someone who was not interested in her. He initially tried to let it her known without hurting her feelings, but it got to a point where he no longer had a choice. He needed to tell her upright. Marice finally got the message and although very saddened, nevertheless wished him the best of luck when he went to Hillwood to get the girl of his dreams. Sadly, Arnold returned from that trip empty-handed.

Despite the news, Marice never stopped liking him. Although eventually becoming aware that Arnold was still single, she ceased in her pursuit of him and settled to just being friends with him...at least for now.

"¿Como fue tu viaje, Arnold?" (How was your trip?) Marice asked him.

"Me fue bien. No me retrase, como puedes ver." (It went well. I wasn't delayed, as you can see.) He responded with his American accent and with a genuine smile.

"Me alegro de escuchar eso." (I'm glad to hear it.) She said to him with her own smile. But then, she dropped her smile and became serious. "Otra vez, lo siento que no te reuniste con Helga." (Again, I'm sorry that you didn't get back together with Helga.) She said to him, trying her best to sound as genuinely as she can.

"Gracias, Marice." Arnold said with a weak smile, but couldn't help to also show a strong hint of sadness.

Things immediately began to feel awkward between them. Marice did not like to mention the girl that prevented Arnold from liking her, nor was she happy to see him so sad. Wanting to change topic,

"Bueno, deberíamos empezar con nuestro trabajo. Hay bastante que hacer y prefiero terminarlo antes cuando vas a la selva." (Well, we should start with our work. There is a lot to do and I prefer to finish it before you go to the jungle) She said to him.

"Si. A que empezar." (Yes, let's start.) He said, regaining some of his energy back.

Arnold and Marice spent the rest of the day distributing clothing and accessories to either the villagers, or preparing them for further delivery downstream, to other communities. Despite the initial awkward silence, they soon relaxed and began to talk about various topics and subjects, much to Arnold's relief. Even though the work they were doing was hard, he rather enjoyed it, as it allowed him to forget about his woes, jealousy and worries and just focus on the task at hand. Working alongside Marice facilitated that process. But they weren't alone. They had help from other volunteers or even from some of the villagers. This is what Arnold loved about this job; everyone coming together to help each other out. It was a communal process.

The next day, it was the same process; getting up early, eating breakfast, having a small chance to interact with Marice and some kids his age from the village. Then, it was off to work again; finishing with the distribution of all tools, equipment, clothing, food and other materials. Arnold had to work fast; he was scheduled to leave the village and go with his parents for a day deep in the jungle.

Just then, a jeep arrived, with the obvious look that it had things inside it.

_More stuff to deliver?_ Arnold groaned in thought. _Oh well. Might as well get to it._

Arnold then made his way towards the jeep, preparing himself to unload the deliveries it had. But as he got closer, he saw that there wasn't boxes inside it. Rather, it had bags. The mail was here!

The driver got out of the jeep, went around to the back, open the trunk and got out the bag that was for the specific location. Arnold and everyone started gathering around the jeep, eagerly waiting to see if they received anything from friends or relatives. Arnold waited anxiously as the man took out mail after mail after package from the bag and giving it to everyone other than him. He kept on tapping his foot on the ground and his finger on his elbow, almost even frowning at the driver for not giving him his expected mail.

Finally, after waiting for quite a while, the driver pulls out a bunch of mail for Arnold. Almost instantly, Arnold snatches it, happily gives the driver his thanks and quickly begins to flip them. It didn't take long for a smile to emerge on his face when he saw the mail that he had been waiting; mail from his friends back in Hillwood.

As desperate as Arnold was to open it, he had to very reluctantly put them inside his parents' vehicle in order to finish the work that he had to do before he set out. That was easier said than done. He was constantly thinking about it, wanting to read what the latest news was in Hillwood, as well as what his friends have been doing since he left.

_Did they miss me? Were they thinking about me?_ He thought. _I'm sure they did. They were really happy to see me back in March. They used the whole week to squeeze whatever time there was to hang out with me._

"¿Arnold, que estás haciendo?" (Arnold what are you doing?) Marice suddenly called out.

"Huh?" Arnold said, bringing himself back to reality.

"Mira." (Look.) She said as she pointed to the packages that he was folding.

Arnold looked down to see what Marice was pointing at. He saw that he had just packaged two different boxes together. Worse, he had been doing that for quite a few packages.

"Oh, disculpa Marice. Gracias por alertándome." (Oh I'm sorry Marice. Thanks for letting me know) He said frantically and hurried to carefully unfolded the packages that contained more than one. He had to ensure he didn't rip the wrapping paper; it was all they had.

Eventually, Arnold managed to complete all of his task, albeit just barely. His parents had just informed him that they were to leave in a few minutes and that he had better get all of his things and say his goodbyes. Arnold wasted no time and gathered all of his equipment and tools, said goodbye to Marice, grabbed all of the mail that had just arrived, then rendez-voused with his parents to the loading dock.

After getting on the boat and ensuring he and his parents had everything that they need for the next few days, Arnold finally had the time to relax a bit. Finding a place on the boat where he can be by himself, he sat down, grabbed the mail from his bag and began to read the first one.

**Almost two hours later...**

Arnold had just finished reading Harold's and was pretty happy on reading the latest tales his friends had written him. Well, almost. On almost everyone's letters, except Harold's, an issue had been on everyone's mind when they wrote their letters to him. It didn't sound serious, not yet anyways, but it was bothering his friends. Arnold scanned and re-read through the letters again, trying to see if he can decode his friends' emotional state throughout their writing. Based on what he can gather, they were relatively concerned, but not necessarily freaking out.

What event was driving Arnold's friends to warrant them to even write to him about it? Apparently, certain rumors and racial/homophobic slanders have been circulating around their school for some time, resulting in outbreaks of infighting among the students. Some of his friends, like Rhonda, Nadine and Gerald, have written that some of their others friends have either splintered or couples of broken up as a result. Fear, paranoia and distrust from those who are 'different' have been becoming prominent. Although finding all of this concerning, Arnold remained optimistic. After all, these kinds of things are not new. Granted, this is the first time he had heard that these kinds of things have been affecting an entire school, but he remained faithful that not just his friends, but everyone in their school, will pull through. After all, after the events that happened on Gerald's field some five years ago, Arnold was confident that whatever issue was happening in their school, his friends will rally together to take care of it.

Arnold then picked up another of his friends' mail, which just so happened to be Rodrigo's, causing Arnold to frown. Just reading that very name gave Arnold a rush of jealousy and anger. Even now, he still had not yet come to terms with his own feelings about the Latino kid, but it wasn't his fault; Rodrigo's. He had nothing to do with their break up. That only served to confound Arnold's feelings about him even more. Even during his visit, Arnold had wanted nothing to do with him after Helga declined to get back together with him. However, after a bit of encouragement and wise words from his grandfather, Arnold opted to push his feelings of jealousy and hurt aside and hang out with Rodrigo, who by all accounts, was a relatively cool teen to hang out with. After only a few days, Arnold began to feel more relax around him, even forgetting his jealous and at one point, opting to go with him to a Latino club and dance. Indeed, that whole experience with a serious roller coaster, but by the end of it, Arnold felt more relaxed and less hostile towards Rodrigo. He got to see him as a cool and nice kid and not as the guy who 'stole his girl'. Despite still feeling jealous, Arnold knew that with time, his anger and jealousy will subside and he will eventually embrace Rodrigo as a good friend.

With that in mind, Arnold opened Rodrigo's letter and proceeded to read it.

**After a few days...**

After some time in the jungle with his parents, Arnold and they finally went back to the capital and begin experimenting on the specimens they have caught. Again, like any other time, it was the same as always; coming back from the jungle, going to school and catching up on a few lost classes, helping his parents in the lab, going to more classes, catching up on homework and assignments, again helping out at the lab and if he gets lucky, actually have a weekend to relax and hang out with some friends.

Since his recent return from the jungle, Arnold pondered about this tedious, yet now highly predictable schedule. He had not just been accustomed to it, but was finding it less and less...rewarding. This was especially apparent after his return from Hillwood. It just wasn't the same after going back. He found it hard to 'get back into his groove', as it were, after his vacation. Initially, he couldn't put his finger on it, but there was definitely something there that was bothering him, or rather something not being there.

_Is this 'blah' thing that I have been experiencing since I came back from Hillwood...emptiness?_ He thought. _But, why do I feel empty?_

Despite his busy schedule, Arnold spend the next two weeks since his return from the jungle thinking constantly about this. By now, he was convinced that something was missing in Arnold's life. He initially thought that it was Helga and to some extent, it was true. Helga's long silence and absence from his life had left a deep hole and for the past several years, had been attempting to fill it. Although doubting he ever succeeded in completely filling that hole, he had for the most part thrived in his new environment. He learned so much about the life of a semi-nomadic person, moving constantly from city to city, while having only your parents as solid companions. Then there was the adventures he experience at the jungle, and now volunteering with an international non-profit organization to help those in need.

Yet, Helga never really left his mind, nor his heart. He would sometimes think about it and there were even times when he deeply missed her, but reframed from attempting to be more assertive and reestablishing contact with her. He felt that whenever she was ready to start to talking to him, she would let him know.

For the first year or so, he was able to move on with his life and at one point, felt he was over her. But after another year and with still no letters from her, Arnold began to starting thinking about her again. It wasn't by choice. Memories of them being together would sometimes resurface and start circulating around his head. And those memories only got stronger as the year progressed. Arnold tried to ignore it but eventually got the point where he could no longer stand it. It wasn't just his frustration about wanting to talk to her again. He wanted her back into his life. He had missed her and was now finding the possibility of a life without her unbearable. That was why before he embarked on returning to Hillwood after almost three years, he made up his mind; he would get back together with her. But how? Arnold didn't find the option of being in a long-distance relationship appealing. He wanted her to be physically there. So, assessing that perhaps Helga had thought about going to San Lorenzo to be with them, Arnold opted for her to possibly move in with them.

Firstly, he had to get his parents' permission. It didn't really take long for him to convince them to allow Helga to move in with them. Sure, they were reluctant about it, but as long as she AND her parents allowed it, they didn't see a problem in it. She can enroll in an American state high school in the country and there was even an American university that the U.S. recognized any students' credits. He wasn't sure if this is something she wanted to do, or even if she thought about it. But it couldn't hurt ask her. Besides, he had a hunch that she probably thought about doing this and would probably say yes.

Ecstatic, Arnold went to Hillwood to give Helga the good news. When he arrived and had his first encounter with Helga in his old room in the boarding house, he had expected the first meeting to feel...awkward. And it was. For a time, both teens didn't really know what to say to each other. They hadn't talked to each other in almost three years and they are no longer dating, so what was there to say? Helga was especially being quiet, as she seriously tried hard not to fall to pieces when she first laid eyes of him after so long. She wanted to embrace him; she wanted to tell him how long she had waited for this. But she couldn't, for many reasons. Eventually, concentrating on reestablishing some sort of a rapport, both teens were able to wiggle their way into having a normal, casual and eased conversation. The tension decreased and it soon went away. Obviously they spent their time informing the other about what each of them have been up to. It was only after that, when Helga felt ease and comfortable enough that she laid her bombshell;

**Back in March break...in Arnold's old room...**

"Rodrigo and I are...dating." She suddenly and just bluntly said to him.

"What?" Arnold asked with a completely shocked look on his face.

_Really? Did he not hear me the first time? Crimeny, does he really want me to say it again?_ She groaned thought.

"I said, Rodrigo and I are dating." She said again. "I wouldn't say we are a couple, but we are seeing each other.""

For a moment, Arnold just stood there, silently and motionless. He didn't know what to do or what to say, but clearly this was completely unexpected! Here he was, back in Hillwood after almost three years away and with a some big news that he had for her; he missed her and wanted to get back together with her. Now, all of it seemed to be breaking into pieces and being flushed down the toilet. And just like that, he felt a serious pain in his chest, as if someone just reach into his heart, grabbed it and yanked it out from him.

"Well, I mean umm...that's great." He lied while trying to smile. "When did this happen?" He asked, trying to hide away the pain and growing angry that he was feeling.

"Last week. It's been known that we started liking each other for some time and I took the first step and 'told him' how I felt about it." She explained.

_Last week?!_ He thought angrily. _I was late by only a week?! She was essentially single this whole time. I could have gotten back together with her if I only reached out to her earlier!_

"How so?" He asked.

"I didn't feel like telling him so I just danced with him during lunch time." She explained. "It wasn't just a simple dance. The way I moved around him and trying to get his attention, you know the whole 'I like you too' thing, only physically. I just figured it was easier."

"Well, what did he say?" Arnold asked.

"Well umm, he didn't really say anything yet." She said shyly.

"Huh?" Arnold said, sounding completely confused.

"I'm kind of still waiting for him to give me an answer." She said shyly.

Arnold looked at her with a perplexed and confusing look.

"But then, why did you tell me that you guys were dating if you he hadn't even given you an answer?"

"As I said before, football head," She said rather firmly, "it has been known to us that we have liked each other for quite some time. I'm not idiot. I could tell that he likes me. The way he looks at me, how he takes the time to hang out and talk to me, blah blah blah. He obviously couldn't say anything because he and everyone else thought that you and I were still together."

"Wait a minute! You told people that we broke up?" Arnold asked surprisingly. "When did that happen?!"

"Yes, I ended up telling everyone that YOU broke up with me." She said, strongly emphasizing the word, 'you'. "It was a few weeks ago, on a Friday night. I figured it was time that everyone knew. No biggie."

_No biggie?!_ He thought irritatingly. _All of this time, she didn't tell anyone of our relationship until only a few weeks ago!?_

Arnold could not believe his luck. He was too late by only a few weeks. This entire time he could have asked Helga to get back together again and he had no doubt that she would have accepted it. Now, he was at a crossroad; either risk it all and tell Helga about his plans of wanting to get back together again and either get her back or damage whatever little relationship he has with her, or accept this shocking outcome and respect Helga's newfound relationship. Arnold just stood there silently, pondering about what to do. At that very moment, he wanted to do something selfishly; he wanted to tell her that he missed her terribly and wanted to get back together with her. Truthfully, he didn't care how this would affect Rodrigo, or Helga for that matter. He just wanted her back. He had made a terrible mistake in letting her go and wanted to rectify it.

"Hey, hellooo." Helga suddenly. "Earth to football head." As she waved her hand in front of him.

"Huh?" Arnold suddenly said, throwing himself off from his train of thought.

"You kind of dozed off there." She said.

"I didn't doze off." He said, a bit annoyingly. "I was just thinking."

"About?" She asked curiously.

"Well, to be honest. I'm a bit surprised." He confessed. "But I'm really happy for you Helga." he quickly added.

"What exactly about this was surprising to you?" She asked suspiciously.

_Did he actually think I could not get over him?_ She thought.

"Well, it just came out of nowhere." He lied, "I would figured this would be one of the first things you would tell me."

Helga was still a bit suspicious about why he was surprised about it, but nothing really wanting to find out, she let it go.

"Anyways, I'm really happy for you Helga." He congratulated her again.

He had made his decision. Ever the selfless person that he really was, he would respect Helga's relationship with Rodrigo.

"Well, don't jinx it by congratulating me before he says 'yes'." She reminded him. "I'm still waiting for an answer. Granted I'm 100% sure he will say yes, but you never know."

"I wonder why it is taking him this long to give you an answer?" He asked.

"Pfft, you're the one the talk." She retorted with a sarcastic smile. "It took you about a year to give me an answer, remember? I even had to prove to you again how much you mean to me by organizing that whole fiasco trip to San Lorenzo. Men." She continued as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh right." Arnold said embarrassingly. "Sorry about that."

"Eh, don't worry about it." She shrugged.

**Back in the present...**

Despite it happening back in March, Arnold felt it only seemed like yesterday when that encounter happened. The pain of loss was still present and it was getting worse when he departed Hillwood for San Lorenzo. As more time passed, the more he thought about it, which only worsened this sense of emptiness that he was feeling. It was only after watching the video of Helga and Rodrigo dancing together for the Annual dancing performance at their school, one month after returning to San Lorenzo, that he finally felt some sort of alleviation, enough for him to finally embrace Helga's relationship with Rodrigo with much happiness and joy for her, allowing him to move on.

Yet this sense of emptiness never really went away. It still lingered on. Worse still, it wasn't just with Helga that he was feeling this. There was something else.

_But what is it?_ He asked himself. _Is it stability? For long time I felt that my world was rocked by things outside of my control. My parents' jobs have been a huge pain. I honestly don't know how they do it, but they enjoy this type of lifestyle; moving around, embracing any new challenges. I thought I could do this, but it turned out that trying to live this lifestyle is much harder than I thought._

Despite its challenges, Arnold still enjoyed it. Getting to know new places and meeting new people was part of the fun and Arnold, at least initially, fully embraced it. But therein lied the problem. Constantly meeting new places and new people meant that there was no stability in his life. For a while, it was tolerable. But it soon became a huge burden for him, so much so that he had to speak to his parents about settling on one particular place. It was just too much for him. They ended up picking San Lorenzo and for a while, it worked. Arnold got to enjoy leading a somewhat stable life; he became acquainted with many new people and even started making friends both in school and in the many villages and communities he traveled to. And again for a while, it was fine...until he left for Hillwood.

Seeing his friends after almost three years, allowing the nostalgia to permeate around him whenever he visited many of the same areas and locations that he used to venture to when he was a kid, all of it gave him not just sense of stability, but also a sense of belonging. It was only after seeing his friends after such a long time did he realized that he really missed them.

This wasn't anything new. He had always missed them. But during the first few years, it was tolerable and for a while, he adjusted to the new circumstances. But after his visit to Hillwood, that feeling of belonging was now becoming more and more apparent and he was no longer able to simply ignore it. To somewhat counter this, Arnold attempted to spend more time with the friends he made in school. He even cancelled going with his parents back to the jungle, just so he can have a breather and just enjoy life. But it wasn't enough. No, it just wasn't the same.

_It's not like Juan, Sophia, Alejandro and Ximena are bad friends._ He thought._ On the contrary. They are the most nicest people I've ever met. They helped me to adjust to life in the capital and even helped me out on figuring out our school. They made the process that much easier. I don't know what I would have done without them. I should be happy to have met them!_

But he wasn't. As Arnold took the streetcar that led back to his apartment, he was busy in thought about what he was feeling and what he really wanted. He was so much into his own thoughts that he pushed away all the noises and distractions around him.

_I should be happy_. He continued to think. _I have my parents, I have new friends. I even found my calling; helping out other people. I still get to be who I am here. Sure my old friends are thousands of miles away, but they are all doing well. Even Helga now is doing pretty well. She is going out with Rodrigo and judging from what Gerald and everyone has told me, they seem pretty happy together._

"Plaza de Santo Sebastián!" (Saint Sebastian square!) The driver called out as he stopped the streetcar to let any passengers in and/or out.

"Huh?" Arnold said as he realized that this was his stop. Quickly grabbing his backpack, he got up and rushed out of the streetcar, and just in the nick of time. The doors behind him closed, the bell ring and the streetcar started driving off.

Once off, Arnold began to make his way home, but still continued to think about how he felt about all of this.

_*sigh* I might as well admit it to myself; as much as I thought I was happy doing all of this; I'm not. I mean, I have no regrets, but I just miss my old friends. It's just not the same without them._ He thought somberly.

_I shouldn't have allowed my fear of losing my parents again to get the better of me!_ He continued to think. _I should have visited them more often. I had the chance, but I didn't want to go without my parents. I have to control my fears and make more of an effort to see them._

**A few weeks later...**

Arnold was again at the lab, busy cleaning all of the tools and equipment after another day's work. It was now Friday and he was looking forward to the weekend. He had opted out from going with his parents back to the jungle and wanted to just spend some time in the capital with his new friends. He had been making more of an effort to hang out with them and socialize more, hoping that his emptiness that he had been feeling for months would eventually go away.

For now, that seemed to have worked. More and more Arnold found out that he was slowly getting back on his feet and enjoying himself more.

_Maybe that's all I needed to do._ He thought. _I just need to make more time for myself and hang out with my friends and just do fun things again. I don't need to tag along with my parents all the time. They are still there and they will come home after a few days._

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Arnold dropped what he was doing and made his way to the door to open it.

"Buenas noches, Arnold." (Good evening, Arnold) Señor Gutiérrez, the mail carrier said as he handed the teen some mail.

"Buenas noches, Señor Gutiérrez ¿Cómo va todo?" (Good evening, Mr. Gutierrez. How are things?) Arnold said.

"Todo va bien, gracias Arnold." (Everything is going well, thank you Arnold) Señor Gutiérrez responded with a smile. "Hasta luego" (Bye).

"Chao" (Bye) Arnold said and slowly closed the door as Señor Gutiérrez walked away.

Arnold put the mail on a table and went back to finishing up with his tasks for the night. It was getting late and he didn't feel like staying at the lab on a Friday night.

After getting off from the streetcar and having walked about fifteen minutes from the Plaza de Santo Sebastian, Arnold went inside his building, ran into the elevator, just as it was closing. After waiting to get to the fifteen floor, he got out, walked towards his apartment and went inside.

The apartment where he and his parents lived was in a luxurious neighbourhood, at least compared to the rest of the city. It was not only where most of the wealthy elites lived, but also where most of the foreigners who have come to work also resided. It was relatively safe to walk around and the lab where he and his parents work is just off from the district, into another that is mostly a middle class neighbourhood. The friends that he made there were either from the same wealthy neighbourhood or at the very least, from the middle class area.

After making a quick dinner and eating it, Arnold sat down on his couch, grabbed his back and took out the mail and began scan it. Soon enough, he found the letters from his friends. Deciding to read Eugene's letter first, he opened it and began to read it.

After reading Eugene's letter, Arnold was stunned by the news. Without even saying hello, or even asking him how he was doing, Eugene's first words were to bluntly tell Arnold that they needed him to come home. The clumsy teen argued that their school was on the brink of chaos, with students ready to tear each other apart. The racist/homophobic rumours and slanders that have been circulating for months have gotten out of control and Eugene feared that unless something was done, people will continued to get hurt. To his surprise, Eugene wrote to Arnold that he was secretly calling on the Mitigators to once again to heed the call of their fellow students and help them on this hour of need. Only him and few others knew of this.

Taking his friend's letter seriously, Arnold pondered if he should go back home to help out, at least only for a few days. However, he was hesitant to do something so drastic.

_Do they really need my help? _He thought. _What about my parents? Will they even allow me to go back to Hillwood so soon and during the school year? Worse, am I ready to go on my own...without them?_

Arnold began to feel anxious again about that last thought. During the past few weeks, he had been slowly attempting to be on his own, opting out from either going with them to the jungle or even helping them in their laboratory. Using that extra time, he either hanged out with his friends or used that time to catch up on some homework. Either way, the point was to get away from his parents to relinquish his fear that they will leave him again. Although only a few weeks, it had thus far been working .

Curious to see how the others felt about it, Arnold then began to read Rhonda's letters. As soon as he opened it, something fell. When he looked down to see what it was, he realized that it was a plane ticket; one way.

_Why did Rhonda send me a plane ticket?_ He wondered. He grabbed the ticket from the ground and began to read Rhonda's letter.

As he thought, Rhonda's letter was less casual and more urgently sound. Like Eugene, Rhonda was quick to inform him that she had been conversing with Eugene and agreed with him that they need his help about what's been happening in their school. She said that for weeks, she had been trying to use her connections to find out who has been creating these rumors, but was not able to find anything. Apparently no one knew, or no one was willing to say about these rumors. She explained that the very fact that not even her well established connections were able to yearn any useful information meant that something deep and serious was going on in their school. As she herself said, "No information just goes over me without me knowing it!". She explained that was why she was offering Arnold a one way plane ticket to come back to Hillwood; they needed his help. Rhonda explained that he was the only person with the heart, determination and charisma that was able to inspire and unite everyone before, in order to stop Ludwig's attempt in reinstituting Trash Can Day and exclaimed that he could do so again.

Again, although wanting to help his friends, he was hesitant in taking such a drastic. Even with the plane ticket, he can't just get up and leave...could he? Wanting to get some more information, Arnold then read everyone else's letters, including Rodrigo's.

Sure enough, all of them contained the same sense of concern and frustration over the growing issue. It was the main topic of discussion. Everyone explained how many of their own friends and acquaintances had become victims of these rumours and slanders. Couples have broken up and some groups have splintered as a result. Gerald and Phoebe especially were particularly concerned, given that they were a mixed couple and saw many of their own fellow students who were in a relationship with those of different racial/ethnic background breaking up, either due to peer pressure or because each of them contain stereotypical, if not prejudiced views about their boyfriend/girlfriend's ethnicity. Both teens stated that their relationship had so far, not been affected by all of this, much to Arnold's relief.

Finally, after reading through all of their letters, Arnold relented; he would go back to Hillwood to help out.

_My friends need my help and I have to go._ He thought. _But how? My parents come home tomorrow; not enough time for me to go to Hillwood and back. But...they are scheduled to go back to the jungle next week for a few days. Perhaps during that time I can go. That could work. Now all I need to do is just convince them to let me go._

Despite it being late and exhausted, Arnold quickly got to work to write Eugene and Rhonda a response letter, giving them the time and date of when he will be heading back. After that was completed, he then wrote a serious of points in order to try to convince his parents to let him go back to Hillwood for a few days.

When his parents arrived back home the next day, Arnold waited another day in order to allow them to rest before he spilled the beans. When that day came, he sat them down and bluntly asked them if he can return to Hillwood for a few days. When his parents asked why, Arnold explained to them that his friends have asked for his help and never the type of person to say no to someone who needed help, he explained to them the whole issue that has been happening in their school. Arnold also confessed to his parents about what he had been feeling since he came back from Hillwood in March; the emptiness and lack of belonging. He pleaded with them that not only did he want to go back to help them, but also because he didn't want to lose his friends. He was essentially going back not just to help them, but also because he wanted to go back, even if it was for a few days.

After some convincing, his parents relented and allowed him to go back to Hillwood. BUT, on the condition that he return home by the time they come back from the jungle, which only gave Arnold four days and he must not fall behind in his homework and assignments. Arnold agreed to all of these conditions and happily thanked them. He then immediately went to mail his letters to both Eugene and Rhonda.

His parents had their own ulterior motive for allowing him to go back. For some time, they had been growing worried about Arnold's inability to be a bit independent and not cling on them too much. It was one thing to want to spend time with them and catch up, but it was completely another thing to want to go with them to work and spend every single hour and day with them. Arnold was so anxious and fearful about possibly losing them again that he did not want to leave their side, not even for a minute. They were concerned that at this rate, he might lose contact with his friends and especially with Helga in Hillwood. Several times they tried to discuss this with them, but every time Arnold remained firm on wanting to spend as much time as possible with them and constantly assured them that he had not forgotten his friends, or the need to just be a normal teenager. They figured that considering that he will be going to Hillwood on his own, it was a big step in the right direction for him to be more independent. He had already been showing that for the past few weeks, so they were hopeful he could take this big step.

Arnold went to the nearest post office and mailed both letters. Then, he quickly made his way back home and began to immediately pack. As he began packing, he couldn't help but feel a sense of euphoria. Although only going to help out, he was also excited about it. This was something new; going back home unexpected and for the first time, going without his parents...

**One week later...**

Arnold and his parents arrived at the airport to drop him off as he went solo. Although initially excited about it, Arnold couldn't help but starting to feeling anxious about it.

"Have a safe flight, son." Miles said to him.

"Um, thanks dad." Arnold said nervously.

Seeing that his son needed some encouragement,

"Well be here to pick you up, son. I promise." He said with a smile. "We're not going anywhere this time."

"I know, it's just that..." Arnold began to say, but was then met with a loss of words. "...I just can't help but feel this way."

"I know, son." Miles said. "And you have every right to feel that way. But unless you take the first step to trust the fact that we WILL be here, you will always carry that fear. I promise that once you take that first step, the second one will not feel so bad."

Stella than approached Arnold and gave him a big hug.

"We're not leaving you this time; not for anyone." She said to him.

"Thanks, you guys." Arnold said, feeling reassured.

"Tell everyone we said hi." Stella said.

"I will. bye." Arnold said as he then made his way to the line in order to give the personnel his small luggage.

After waiting in line for a while and then going into the airport, Arnold tried whatever he could to ignore his anxiety and to just go with it. It was a tug of war scenario. There was times when he felt he was getting over it, only to fall right back. But he had no reservations about going back.

Eventually, the time came for him to board the plane. Taking a deep breath, he made his way into the gate, walked through it and boarded the plane. Once finding his seat, he sat down and buckled his seatbelt. While anxiously waiting, he grabbed a magazine and tried to read it, while listening to some music.

_They are not going anywhere. They are not going anywhere. They are not going anywhere_. He told himself frantically.

Finally, after having to put up with this for hours, Arnold had enough and banged the armrest with his fists.

_They are not going anywhere! I'm going to Hillwood and that's that! I was fine before I found them; I can be so again! They will come to the airport to pick me up and I will be there to see them again!_ He told himself furiously.

No longer wanting to listen to his fears, Arnold grabbed a book that he took with him and began to read it, concentrating as much as he could on the content.

As the plane began to move backward and then forward, Arnold still continued on reading, completely ignoring his surroundings. Even when the plane began to speed up, he remained firm in his seat. Then, the plane tilted a bit and then lifted up, leaving the ground and the country. He was off. It was only then that he now put the book down, took a deep breath, and allowed himself to come to the realization that he was at a point of no return. He was on a plane, without his parents, completely out of his control as to whether or not they will still be there when he returned.

But it was precisely that realization that allowed him to move on; he never had any control over it to begin with. Even when he was with this parents, there was no way he could surveillance them 24/7. They often had to go on their own, sometimes ranging for almost a day before he saw them again and who knows what could have happened during that period.

_A lot of things could have happened._ He thought. _I guess the reason why I was so hell bent on being physically close to my parents was because the last time they left and never came back, I didn't have any control over it. I was just a baby when they left. But now, this is something that I am choosing to do; I am being in control by making the decision for myself to go back to Hillwood and leave my parents in San Lorenzo. It wasn't forced upon me._

Feeling a bit relieve by these thoughts, Arnold slumped a bit on his seat and relaxed a bit. Grabbing his book once again, he began to read in order to pass the time. It was a six hour flight. For the second time in less than six months, he was going home.


	14. Chapter 14 - Let it Grow

**This is NOT the final chapter of this story, but it is the final chapter because I start to write another story, called Hey Arnold: Civil War.**

* * *

**At lunchtime...outside on the School's track and field area...**

"Get him!" A teen yelled out.

"Beating the living snout of out him!" Yelled another.

"Send him back to India!" Another teen yelled.

It was just another day at school, with a scenario that had become all too normal. A crowd had gathered around to watch two male teens beat each other up. One was white, while another was of Indian descent. A rumor had been circulating for some time where the Indian teen had apparently been making rude, sexual and obscene remarks about the white teen's sister. Given India's history as a patriarchal society, the white teen didn't take too kindly and confronted the Indian teen, to which he denied saying anything demeaning about his sister. But the damage had already been done. After a verbal confrontation where the White teen said a few racist remarks, the Indian teen, now angered, agreed to fight him. It was another case of just how bad things have become. Fights like these have been breaking out constantly, affecting everyone.

Gerald, Harold, Sid, Stinky, Eugene and Rodrigo were among the spectators who had gathered around to watch the fight. However, unlike everyone else, these six teens opted to not take sides and simply watched, to their dismay, as another fight broke out. Thankfully, this fight didn't last too long. After only a few minutes, it was instantly stopped by a few teachers that came running towards the scene and broke them off, sending both fighting teens to the Principal's office.

After that, the boys walked away but did not really bother to discuss it among themselves. By this time, it was pointless, as no one received any information that they didn't already know. No one knew who was creating these rumors and slanders, nor how on earth he or they were able to get a hold of a lot of personal information about some of the students. In the end, the boys just decided to get on with their lives and focus on another matter.

"Well, the only good news after all of that is the school dancing that is happening this Friday." Gerald said to everyone.

"Oh ya! I completely forgot about that." Harold said as he slapped his forehead. "I hope there will be food there."

"I doubt that Harold." Sid said. "But rest assured that our ladies will be there."

"Speaking of which, are you and Helga going to the school dance?" Gerald asked as he looked at Rodrigo.

"I sure hope so." Rodrigo responded. "I'm really excited about this school dance. It'll be our first dance together, so I hope Helga will agree to come."

"I'm sure she will, Rod." Stinky said as he padded him on his back. "This time, you two will be going as a couple. There are no more secrets; you are now dating Ms. Pataki."

"That's for sure." Gerald said, feeling relieved. "So the ladies are all going to Rhonda's on Friday to prep up. I say we meet them at school."

"Prep up?" Rodrigo asked.

"Ya. Whenever there is a school dance, usually the girls would go to Rhonda's and get ready. You know, getting dressed, putting on some make-up, the whole show!" Gerald explained.

"Has Helga ever attended?" Rodrigo asked curiously.

"From what Phoebe has told me; no." Gerald said. "Those kinds of things are not really Helga's cup of tea. Plus, for obvious reasons that everyone now knows, she was occupied with 'other things'."

Rodrigo frowned a bit at what Gerald said but nevertheless tried not to let it get to him.

"Well, that sounds like a plan." He said. "I'll see if Helga, by some chance, decides to go to Rhonda's for that 'prep up party, I can meet up with you guys here. But if not, I think I'll come to the school with her ."

"Sure." Gerald said. "What does everyone else think? We meet up here?"

"I'm done." Sid said.

"You betcha!" Stinky exclaimed.

"Yea, I'm ok with that." Harold mumbled as he took a bite from his chocolate bar.

"That sounds good." Said Eugene.

**Meanwhile...**

While the boys talked about their rendez-vous plan, Helga was with Phoebe, walking back towards their locker to put away their lunch bags and get their books for their afternoon classes. But just like the boys, the two besties were also discussing about the upcoming school dance.

"I can't wait for the school dance this coming Friday!" Phoebe happily exclaimed as she giggled. "I always look forward to this event."

"I'm surprised they are still going through with the plan on having this dance, despite the amount of fighting and tensions that has been increasing here as of late." Helga remarked.

"You do have a point there, Helga." Phoebe said. "But I believe that is the very reason why they are having it. In order to reduce the level of tension, distrust and infighting, what better way is there than to have a school dance where everyone can have fun?"

"Hmm, I guess." Helga replied casually.

"Are you coming?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't think so, Pheebs." Helga replied. "One nose bleed was enough. Besides, I already have him, so what's the point in going? The first time worked."

"I thought you took Rodrigo to the last school dance to say 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry' to him." Phoebe said with a suspicious and stern face.

"Well, I-I-I mean, yes, I did take him to say 'thank you' for being a good friend and to apologize for being such a jerk to him." Helga responded nervously, but she knew it was pointless to try and hide it.

*sigh* "Look Pheebs. I'm sorry for never telling you about me and Arnold. I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't ready to even admit it to myself. Plus, I didn't want to get you anymore worried about me than you already were. I just...wasn't ready to let it go. And as for the last school dance, yes officially it was for that; to say 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry'. But unofficially...I was testing the waters." Helga said genuinely.

"It's ok, Helga." Phoebe said with an assuring smile. "Although I do wish you had told me sooner; it would have save me some trouble in trying to help you the wrong way. But I understand why you couldn't yet tell me. I forgive you."

"Thanks, Pheebs." Helga said with a smile.

"Hey Ladies!" A voice suddenly called out to them, prompting them both to turn around and see who it was.

"Oh, hi Rodrigo." Phoebe said.

"Hi Pheebs." Rodrigo responded. He then glanced at Helga, took her hand, bowed down and kissed it.

"Hola, mi linda senorita." (Hi, my beautiful lady.) He said to her.

"Kiss it, don't slobber it." Helga retorted as she yanked her hand away from him. "But, buenas días mi suave señor." (Good day my sweet sir). she continued softly and with a smile.

"Where's Gerald? Wasn't he with you?" Phoebe asked.

"He was. He's still with the boys. They were about to play some basketball. I wanted to meet up with Helga before lunchtime ended. He actually asked me to tell you if you can meet him at the basketball court." Rodrigo said.

"Oh. Sure, I would love to!" Phoebe said happily. "I'll see you later, Helga." And with that, she walked away to meet up with Gerald, leaving the newly couple alone.

"Bye, Pheebs." Helga responded.

"So," Rodrigo then began to say, "will I have the honor to be your date for the school dance this Friday?"

"Nah, I'm not going." Helga said. "I have no desire to go and get annoyed with obnoxious music."

Rodrigo however just looked at her suspiciously. He didn't buy it.

"You didn't seem to have a problem in taking me to the last school dance." He remarked.

"I was just trying to impress you." Helga countered with a smirk. "You know, by being all 'nice' and 'considerate'."

"Oh really?" Rodrigo said jokingly. "I seem to recall that you were still technically 'involved' with a certain someone during that time, so how could you have wanted to impress me?" He continued slyly.

"Oh I was just...testing the waters." Helga replied flirtatiously. "...and I liked it." She said softly and then took one step closer to him.

"Well then, if you liked it the last time, I'm sure you love this one." Rodrigo softly replied back and took one step closer to her. "So, will you go with me?

"Na uh." Helga said teasingly. "I guess you'll be flying solo." She then turned around and proceeded to walk away.

"Oh I won't be flying solo." He replied with a taunting smirk. "I guess I'll just have to ask someone else to be my 'date' on Friday night."

That caused Helga to stop and turn around.

"Oh is that so?" She rhetorically asked, this time with a now more serious tone in her voice.

She then walked towards him and with a mischievous smile, gently grabbed his shirt and pulled him a bit closer to her.

"The only person who you will be taking to that stupid dance will be me, got it bucko?"

"Well then, I guess you have no choice but to come with me to the school dance." He said with a smile.

"You really have a way of pushing my buttons, don't you Latino boy?" she asked him.

"Yes ma'am, I do." He responded before he then leaned in the kissed her on her lips

Helga wrapped her arms around his neck and fully embraced him as they began to have a full make out session, right in the middle of the hallway. After about thirty seconds, they each pulled away to get some air.

"Ok fine, I'll go to the stupid dance with you." She said.

"Great. I'll pick you up from your house?" He asked.

"Sure. That'll work." She said casually.

**At the end of class...**

Helga walked towards her locker, carrying a pack full of books. Although able to carry them, she struggled a bit under the weight on her shoulder, walking almost awkwardly. She decided to take some of her books from her other classes to her afternoon classes in order to get ahead and do some homework. It probably wouldn't have been such a big deal if her locker wasn't so far. Thankfully, it was now the end of school and she was looking forward to going home. But first, she needed to speak to Phoebe about something. Finding her at her locker, which was not far away from hers, she approached her.

"Hey Pheebs." She said as she instantly put her pack onto the floor, making an almost loud thump.

"Hi Helga. Have a lot homework tonight?" She asked as she glanced at her bag.

"Eh, just a little bit." She said casually. "Listen, change of plans. It looks like I'll be going to the school dance after all."

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful!" Phoebe exclaimed happily. "Rodrigo managed to convince you?"

"Kind of. I got coerced into it, really." She shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure you will have fun as you did last time." Phoebe assured her.

"I'm sure I will." Helga responded with a smile. "So do you yet know what time you and Gerald are going to be there?"

Before Phoebe could answer, both teens heard someone from behind Helga.

"Phoebe darling!" Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd exclaimed cheerfully as she approached her.

"Oh, Hi Rhonda." Phoebe greeted her with a smile. "You look rather dashingly beautiful today."

"Why thank you!" Rhonda said. "I did my hair this morning before coming to school, as well my nails." She explained as she showed them to Phoebe.

"And Helga, it's nice to see you too." She said, albeit less enthusiastically.

"Likewise, Rhondaloid" She muttered back. "What do you want?" She rudely asked her.

"Why Helga, what makes you think I would want something?" She asked rather innocently.

Helga however, just stood there silently and glared at her, impatiently waiting for her to say whatever she came to say to them and leave.

"Oh alright. Ingrate." Rhonda said while frowning at her. "I came here to give Phoebe her invitation to our get together this coming Friday night before the school dance. I'm assuming you and Gerald are going?"

"Yes, we are. Thank you, Rhonda." Phoebe said with a pleasant smile as she received her invitation.

"You're welcome." Rhonda replied back with a smile, but it soon disappeared when she faced Helga.

"And Helga, here is your invitation." She said, almost a retorting tone. "Although I'm not sure why I should even bother, since not only you've never attended any of our get together, but don't even have the courtesy to even let me know that you won't be..."

"Sure. I'll come." Helga suddenly said.

"Wait, what?" Rhonda asked with a shocking look on her face.

"Did I stutter? I said 'yes', I'll come." She retorted.

"Really?" Phoebe asked, also surprised. "That's great Helga! I'm so excited about Friday night!" She exclaimed happily.

"Yes...that is great..." Rhonda muttered, still completely in shock that finally, after all this time, Helga will finally attend.

"Well um, thank you for letting me know, Helga." Rhonda said to her, snapping out of her shocking trance. "Well, I will see you both tomorrow. Have a good evening." She said before turning around and walking away.

"Bye Rhonda." Phoebe said and then proceeded to walk to the bus lane along with Helga.

**While on the bus...**

"Phoebe, please tell me why I ever agreed to attend Rhonda's stupid slumber girls parties?" She groaned as she slumped on her seat.

"I can't tell you that, Helga. Why did you agree to come to the party?" She asked.

"I don't know. Mostly just to shut her up and to prove her wrong." She said as she rubbed her forehead. "I'm just going to be bored out of my mind as I just sit there while one of you do something atrocious with my hair, watch chick flick movies and talk about useless gossip."

"But Helga, I already told you, it's not like that." Phoebe protested. "Yes, we do our own make-up and gossip a bit, but we so a lot of fun activities than just that. Rhonda has a whole range of fun things to do at her house."

"Ya, ya, I know. You told me." Helga said, albeit dismissively.

It's true. Despite being invited on many occasions, Helga never bothered to attend any of Rhonda parties, whether it was a public event, or something more private. There were several reasons for this. 1) She was pretty much preoccupied with thinking about Arnold. 2) Despite having some sort of respect for Rhonda as she matured, Helga never considered her as a friend and most often still found her annoying. 3) She clinged to the stereotypical expectation that her parties to be stereotypical girly parties where the girls would do make up, gossip, watch chick flick movies etc, despite Phoebe's insistence to the contrary. Events Helga had no desire to engage in, despite what Phoebe said to the contrary.

But now, things have changed. Ever since her big confession to everyone in March, and realizing how much her own friends still seem to care for her, Rhonda included, Helga had been slowly trying to re-established some sort of a friendly rapport with them. She figured that going to this party would be one of those 'extra' steps that she could take into reaching that goal, much to her annoyance.

"At the very least, I'm just curious to see what Rhonda's parties are all about." Helga said.

"I promise you shan't regret it." Phoebe replied back.

Although it didn't seem like much, it was a big step for Helga. She'll even have to cancel in going to the dance with Rodrigo. Luckily, she knew that he could always go with the boys before they come, so she didn't feel too bad on leaving him hanging like that. Plus, she knew that he would fully support this.

**Friday...at Rhonda's house...**

Helga arrived at Rhonda's mansion. After ringing the doorbell and waiting, the butler, Chester answered the door.

"Hey, I'm here for the party." Helga said to the butler.

"And you are?" The butler asked, while giving Helga a slight snobbish gesture.

"Helga Pataki." She responded, taking notice of his glancing snobbishness.

"Ah Ms. Pataki. Please come in. Ms. Lloyd is expecting you." Chester said and let Helga in. "Right this way please."

Rhonda's parents decided to move from their penthouse a few years back and opted to settle on a beautiful mansion, worthy of the name Wellington-Lloyd. Ever since then, Rhonda had to make some adjustments. She was not thrilled that she had to live in this mansion. She loved her penthouse and was distraught when her parents informed her that they will be moving. Nevertheless, she made the best of it and got her parents' permission to hold more parties at her house than usual.

Chester escorted Helga to another room where the girls were already there, laughing and giggling. The door was open, but the butler knocked on it to get Rhonda's attention.

"Ahem, Ms. Wellington-Lloyd. Ms. Pataki is here." He announced.

"Thanks B." Helga said as she went inside the room.

"Helga! So glad you can come." Rhonda genuinely greeted her. "Oh good. You brought your dress and heels with you."

Helga didn't bother to go home first on that day. She grabbed everything she would need for the party and school dance in the morning and as soon as school ended, went straight to Rhonda's place, arriving there in the later afternoon.

"Likewise." Was all Helga could say; still not sure if she made the right decision to come.

"Hi Helga!" Nadine called out and waved from behind Rhonda.

"We are ever so glad that you could make it!" Lila called out.

"Nice to see you here, Helga." Sheena exclaimed.

Phoebe was also present but simply smiled at her and waved.

Patty was not able to attend the party this time. She had things to do at home before going to the school dance, but she also wanted to go there with Harold. Carmen, who was now dating Sid, also declined the attend the party. Despite knowing who Rhonda is, and despite being friends with Rodrigo, she was not very well acquainted with them and chose to go to the school dance with her own friends.

"Ladies." Helga responded back, acknowledging them. "Alright, let's get this over with. Whose going to be doing what?"

"What do you mean?" Rhonda asked confusingly.

"You know, the whole make up thing. The hair, the nails, the aging cream, etc." Helga clarified.

"Oh Helga." Rhonda said with a soft smile on her face. "Is that all you think we do here? You really have no idea, do you?"

Helga said nothing and just gave Rhonda a confused look, with a raised eyebrow.

_What's she talking about?_ Helga wondered

"Sure, we do all of those things, but there is a lot more that we do than just that." Rhonda said.

Rhonda then approached her and literally wrapped her arm around her and pushed her a bit, signaling her to start walking with her.

"Come, let us show you."

"Uh, ok..." She said awkwardly.

Helga was of course, completely suspicious about all of this. She even went so far as to think that Rhonda was about to pull a prank on her. Yet, to her surprise, Rhonda and everyone else, went to go for a swim in Rhonda's indoor pool. Rhonda informed Helga that she would provide everyone with a swimsuit. And they were clean. Although still being skeptical, Helga nevertheless put on the swimsuit and dived in.

Helga initially kept her distance and just swan casually around. She watched, with a bit of amazement, as everyone else simply integrated one another into the group, talking and laughing away. Helga had never understood how most people were able to easily integrate themselves into a group, chatting and laughing away, pretending that everything was ok but in most cases, they were not. Although sometimes yearning to be a part of a group, she felt that was always somehow, fake, not real. It just felt to be, un-Helga of her. When it came to socializing with other people, it meant that she had to compromise, compromise a part of herself in order to 'fit' in, or allow others to 'fit' in. That part Helga vehemently opposed, as she felt that if people had to compromise a part of who they are, then whatever they were revealing about themselves to others was not real. Yet simultaneously, if one did not compromise, it meant, total isolation, away from others because no one would be able to stand one another.

Helga always had a tough time reconciling the two; between the self and the other. And for the two and a half years, she had chosen to isolate herself, with unpleasant results. Now, as she continued to watch her friends swim around, she made the crucial decision to take this big step; she would integrate herself back into her friends and...will try to compromise. Determined to see this through, she stopped swimming solo and swam towards everyone else, back into everyone else's lives.

At first, it was a bit awkward. It had been so long since she hanged out with her friends, especially her female friends, that she almost forgot how it felt to be around people. Yet slowly but eventually, she began to relax a bit and showed some sense of having fun. With everyone's encouragement, led by Phoebe, Helga slowly began to integrate herself into the group, swimming, talking and even playing a game with them.

After that, everyone got out and, dried up and put their clothes back on, and then went to another room that completely caught Helga by surprise and made her feel a bit more...homey.

"An arcade?!" She exclaimed in disbelief "You have an arcade here?!"

"Oh ya." Rhonda said with a smirk.

"Well, let me at it!" Helga said as she ran up to the first game that caught her eyes; packman.

The girls then spent the next hour or so playing the various games that were there. Seeing as how you didn't need to use any money to play them, Helga poured her heart and soul into all the games that she played, but she didn't play alone. Many of the games allowed you to be in teams, and so the girls took turns competing against each other. Helga soon became renowned as not just a competitive person, but also a highly valuable player. Everyone eagerly tried to get her on their team, seeing as how you stood a good chance in winning if you got her.

Surprisingly, despite her competitive nature, Helga laid off from being the usually strict drill sergeant when playing in a team. Although still taking charge, Helga merely directed her teammate(s) on what to do, but didn't yell, curse, or even threaten them. Actually, Helga even went so far as to ask for their feedback on any strategy or plan she came up with, letting them have a say.

By the time they finished their matches at the arcade room, it was now past 6 p.m. Everyone then proceeded to go straight back to the room where they left their belongings in order to get ready for the school dance. Everyone entered that room talking and laughing. Helga especially was completely enjoying herself and it was not because she won.

"Oh man, hahahahah! What a good game!" Helga exclaimed happily.

"Indeed, Helga. You were great!" Sheena said while smiling

"Thanks Sheena. You were not too bad yourself." Helga said as she gave her a small nudge on her shoulder. "I'm rather impressed. I never took you as the type of person that liked arcade games."

"Oh I always liked those games." Sheena said. "I just never really played with you guys when we were at PS 118. It was only a few years ago, when we entered high school, when Rhonda invited me to our first get together that I started to socialize with everyone."

Helga said nothing and simply smiled at Sheena. It's true, Sheena was never really a part of their group of friends when they were kids. But Helga never noticed when Sheena started becoming one. It was then that she realized that during those first years as a high school teen, Helga had been missing out. But she wasn't going to let that thought get her down.

"Ok ladies, we should start getting ready for the party." Rhonda suddenly called out. "We don't want to be late."

As commanded, the girls then began the long process of doing their hair, makeup, and putting on their dresses. Helga didn't complain and just followed suit and although she had by now relaxed, she still kept her guard up for the inevitable questions that were about to be asked regarding her relationship with Rodrigo.

She wasn't stupid. She knew this was on everyone's mind and she was sure that Rhonda was dying to know about some of the details. While Helga could avoid the interrogation, she knew she couldn't dodge it forever and even if she didn't say anything, Rodrigo might have. Eventually, as expected, the conversation soon drifted towards that black area, towards the inevitable. Her instincts proved to be correct.

"So, Helga?" Rhonda began to talk as she was putting on her dress. "How are things between you and Rodrigo?"

"It's going alright." She responded nonchalantly.

"Oh come on. I know you don't intend on leaving us hanging in the dark like that." Rhonda promptly said. "I mean, it's no secret that you guys are dating and you've already told us a lot; so why not this one? It's not like we're asking about anything personal. Just how you guys have been doing."

"Yeah Helga. Come on, tell us." Nadine said.

"Oh please ever so do!" Lila Exclaimed.

Helga had never liked being interrogated like this and especially on things about her personal life. She could sense her usual defense mechanism acting up.

"We're not trying to be nosy, Helga. We just want to know how you guys are doing, that's all." Sheena tried to assure her.

"Yes Helga. This is part of being involved with any group of friends; we share information about each other. We obviously don't share everything, but we do talk about things. Even if we already know that things are great between you two, it's just the fact of you telling us about it that creates those lasting bonds." Phoebe explained.

Helga glanced at her best friend and studied her with a suspicious look, wondering if perhaps she succumbed to the whims of Rhonda's influence, or if she genuinely was trying to help her take this step. Her usual response would have always been to threaten anyone that got too close with a scowling face. But as these past few months have proved, these people seemed genuinely more interested in her own wellbeing than in simply exchanging gossip. In the end, wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, and not wanting to ruin everyone's night, she relented...for now.

*sigh* "It's been going great guys." She finally confessed, albeit with some reluctance. "Actually, it's been going better than I originally thought. We seem to be connecting well and whatever issues have arisen, we managed to deal with them with cool heads. We each met our parents and so far, they have taken a liking to us. It's only been a few months, but so far, things are going pretty good. I can honestly say that I couldn't be happier."

"He's met your parents already?" Rhonda asked surprisingly.

"Ya. My dad wanted meet him. He wanted to see if he was 'good enough' for me." Helga explained. "After dinner, he then took Rodrigo to his office and speak something to him in private. I don't know what they talked about. But whatever happened in that room, it must have impressed my dad because he literally gave me the thumbs up."

"Well, that's great news!" Rhonda exclaimed. "Not all boyfriends get to impress their potential parents in laws. Most of them have to work for it. But it looks like Rodrigo passed with flying colours."

Helga said nothing and just nodded with a little smile on her face.

"What about his parents?" Sheena asked curiously. "What did they say?"

"Surprisingly, they liked me, especially his dad. He took a great liking to me, saying that I have this 'firey spirit' that will never die, or something to that affect. Either way, they seemed to have given Rodrigo their thumbs up as well." She explained, intentionally leaving out the part where his dad initially had serious reservations about her.

"That's great, Helga!" Phoebe said happily.

"Thanks Pheebs." Helga said. I'm actually relieved things went well with our parents. It would have sucked if we had any problems with them."

"It seems that things are finally going well for you." Nadine interjected.

"Indeed Nadine." Rhonda then said. "Even though it's only been a few months, you've come a long way since 11th grade started last year." She complimented her.

"Thanks...Rhonda." Helga said both suspiciously and gratefully for the compliment. But Rhonda didn't stop there.

"With the way things are progressing, it seems that you are allowing Rodrigo to grow on you, slowly, but with little reservations. I'm happy to see that you are finally letting go of Arnold."

"Wait, what?" Helga asked, as she upper body shot up and become tense and fully alerted due to the mention of her formerly beloved's name.

"You letting Arnold go." Rhonda clarified herself. "Obviously with Rodrigo now in the picture, you would eventually have to set Arnold aside in order to make room for Rodrigo. But you would have to let him go first."

_Let him go? I...haven't thought of it that way..._She thought worryingly.

"Yeah, I guess..." Helga said nervously.

"For sure. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for you to go at it alone and try to forget him during those years since he left." Nadine remarked.

_I wasn't trying to forget him..._She thought.

"Y-Ya, it was really hard..." Helga lied as she took a big, nervous gulp.

"You didn't have to try and forget him alone, Helga. We would have been there for you. You bore the brunt of his departure, so it was natural for you to be worse off. You are a very strong person, Helga for attempting to go at it alone. I commend you for that." Sheena then said. "But now with Rodrigo in the picture, I'm sure that the processing of pushing Arnold out of your system will finally be done in no time."

"T-T-Thanks Sheena." Helga said through her teeth, as she was grinding them with a fury.

By this point, Helga was becoming both extremely anxious and angry, but was trying desperately to hide and control it. Only Phoebe managed to take notice of Helga's despairing look.

"Uh, guys?" Phoebe to speak but was interrupted by Rhonda.

"Well, rest assured Helga. Eventually, as time goes by and your relationship with Rodrigo continues to flourish, I promise that Arnold will be completely out of your system and you won't have to worry about him again in any romantic sense. Eventually, he will be nothing more than a footprint in your history."

_Nothing to me?_ She thought.

By this point, Helga was now becoming very anxious and started to breath heavily. It tried to control it, but it was no use. She felt a shortness of breath.

"Well, nothing else other than as a friend, I meant to say." Rhonda quickly added casually.

"Um guys..." Phoebe again attempted to get everyone's attention, but it was too late.

While everyone started talking among themselves, Helga started hyperventilating. Feeling like she was on the verge of having a panic attack, she continued to desperately try and get a hold of herself, but was having no luck.

_I gotta get out of here!_ She thought.

Suddenly, she got up and walked away quickly from the overwhelming scene, leaving everyone silent and confused.

"Helga, are you ok?" Nadine called out, but Helga didn't answer. She just kept on walking, going straight to the patio that was connected to the room where they were in.

***gasping**gasping*** Helga continued to gasp as she quickly made her way outside, grabbing on to either any of the chairs that were outside, until she reached the stone fence, leaned on it and attempted to regain her breathing.

"Oh dear." Phoebe said worryingly.

"Is she ok?" Rhonda asked worryingly. "Did we say something wrong?"

_Unfortunately, yes. _Phoebe thought somberly.

"No. But it appears that what was said struck a bit of a nerve." She said. "Let me go if she is ok" Phoebe than got up and walked towards Helga, leaving everyone else worried and still confused.

Rhonda however, started becoming a bit suspicious. Her worried facial expression soon gave way to an a stern face. Once Phoebe was outside into the patio, Rhonda then got up.

"Rhonda, where are you going?" Nadine asked.

"Shh! I'm going to see what they are going to talk about." Rhonda said with a low voice.

"Rhonda! We can't eavesdrop on their conversation!" Nadine protested while whispering.

"Sure we can. We are right here. And besides, this is my house." Rhonda whispered firmly and then started walking towards the two teens.

Nadine, Lila and Sheena stood here for a second and looked at each other, wondering if perhaps they should also go and listen. Eventually, their curiosity got the better of them, more than their fear of what Helga might do to them if she ever found out. The three teens then got up and walked towards the patio.

Rhonda walked until she was just outside the entrance to the patio. Not wanting to be seen, she went to the side and hid behind the curtains that were hanging. Nadine, Lila and Sheena soon arrived and also hid behind the curtains, ready to listen in.

"Helga? Are you alright?" Phoebe asked once she got closer to her.

"I'm...fine...Pheebs." Helga said while still gasping.

By the time Phoebe came to her, Helga managed to regain some control in her breathing.

"What happened?" She inquired.

"I...don't know." Helga lied while still gasping. "I just started ***gasp*** experiencing a shortness of breath and needed to come outside for a bit. ***gasp*** Maybe it was the damned perfumes everyone was putting on."

Seeing as how she was still struggling, Phoebe waited a bit to give Helga some time to calm down. She didn't have to wait long.

"Ok. I'm better." She finally said calmly. "Phew! Thought I was about to have a panic attack there."

"Helga," Phoebe began to say rather seriously. "is there something you want to talk about?"

"Like what?" She asked.

"About you and Rodrigo." Phoebe responded. "Are things not going well?"

Rhonda and everyone else tensed up a bit at Phoebe's question, but reframed from saying a word.

"No, Phoebe. It's not that." Helga began to say. "Nothing's wrong between me and Rodrigo."

"You sure?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes. Definitely." Helga said, trying to sound confident. "I meant what I said before; I couldn't be happier. Things have been going well between us. I have no regrets in choosing to be with him. We connect and understand each other. He likes me as I am and doesn't attempt to change that. And I like him as he is as well. Him coming into my life filled a huge hole that I have not been able to fill in years."

Phoebe couldn't help but let out a small smile on hearing that.

"Rhonda was right." Helga continued, while standing up right, almost defiantly. "With the way things are progressing, any thoughts or wants of Arnold will be forgotten. Eventually, he will be...forgotten."

As much as Helga attempted to sound confidently, if not convincingly, that last sentence eroded all of that, forcing her to slump a bit against the stone fence and became sad.

"What's wrong, Helga?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh Pheebs." Helga lamented. "Even though things are going well with Rodrigo and I really like him...I haven't yet forgotten about Arnold. And...I don't want to forget him."

"I'm just not ready to let him go." She continued. "I don't know how to explain it! I don't want to forget him. I just still miss him." As she then sat down on the ground, looking down in sadness.

"Oh crimeny, I'm such a basket case! And a lousy friend and girlfriend!" Helga cried out. "I can't believe I dragged Rodrigo into my chaotic life. I don't even know why Rodrigo hasn't yet run away."

"You're not a lousy friend, or a lousy girlfriend." Phoebe reassured her as she walked and sat down her best friend. "What you are feeling right now is not unique, Helga. A lot of people have gone through this and a lot of people have succeeded. This is not something that will go away within a few months, at least not in your case. Give it time. There's no need to rush. Just focus on today and enjoy spending time with Rodrigo. If you force it, it will only make things worse."

Helga said nothing and just continued to look down in sadness, although she did feel a bit better.

"But just because you stop loving Arnold doesn't mean that you'll forget about him." Phoebe continued. "He has always been a part of your life; a part of everyone's life. And that's not something that is going to go away. What you two went through together, the good and bad, made you into who you are and that will always be there. Besides, I'm sure Arnold will still be here for you, as a friend. If you would like that, of course."

Helga wasn't sure if she wanted that, much less if she was ready to accept Arnold back into her life...only as a friend. But she understood what Phoebe was trying to say to her.

"Thanks Pheebs." She said softly with a smile.

While the two best friends spoke, Rhonda and everyone else looked on with a sense of both amazement and empathy. Despite this being the second time that they have seen Helga be this emotionally vulnerable, it was still a shocking spectacle to see. They had gotten used to seeing her as a tough, emotionally stoic type of person that it seemed almost implausible that she would, or ever could be vulnerable.

However, that shocking sensation soon faded away for Rhonda. Her initial look of amazement and even some sympathy soon gave way for a frowning face. Rhonda had deep suspicions that, despite what Helga had just said about being happy with Rodrigo, she might be having second thoughts.

Over the year, Rhonda had become close to Rodrigo. Not best friends, but close enough for her to consider him as a good friend. After her initial invite to bring Rodrigo to see an Opera, She invited him several more times to attend with her, a social event that Rodrigo found to his liking. She had come like his mature, intellectual and seeming highly cultural attitude and personality as befitting with someone like her in her station. For that reason, she was getting upset with Helga.

_She better not do what I think she might do!_ Rhonda thought. _She's got a great thing with Rodrigo and would be stupid of her to let it all go._

Rhonda wanted to intervene and confront Helga about this, but she knew better than to do that. Unless you were willing to commit yourself to a physical brawl with Helga G. Pataki, confronting and potentially accusing her over a delicate issue such as this was unwise. Yet she wasn't about to give up.

_I just need to think of something more...extreme and untypical._ She thought. _But what?_

After some thought, she thought of something. She then quickly turned around to face Lila, Nadine and Sheena began to whisper something to them. Although initially skeptical, the three female teens then smiled at the idea. Once Rhonda was done, she waited until Phoebe was done before she made her move.

"Honestly Helga, I hope you are not getting cold feet." Rhonda said as she suddenly emerged from her hiding spot, surprising the living heck out of Phoebe and Helga who for a moment, forget where they were.

"Were...were you eavesdropping?" Helga asked shocking, to which Rhonda simply nodded.

That set Helga off.

"What gives you the right to spy on me and know about my business?!" Helga suddenly and angrily yelled at Rhonda, giving her a glaring look that even forced Lila, Nadine and Sheena to back up a bit in fear. But Rhonda remained unfazed.

"I hardly consider it to be spying, since you were only a mere few feet away from us. I didn't need to hide in order to hear what you two were saying. And considering that this is my house, I think I have a right to know what is said under my roof." She calmly said to her.

Helga initially said nothing but just continued to snarlingly glare at her, trying not to lose her cool and do something that she would probably regret later.

"How about I show you the back of my feet by stomping your face!" She angrily yelled at her as she began to walk towards her. So much for trying not to lose her cool.

"Let's get back to the topic here." Rhonda said, still calm and trying to regain some control over the situation. "I'm not here to judge you. In fact, I completely sympathize with you, Helga."

That made Helga stop walking ever closer to her, for the moment at least.

"I may not know what it's like to be in your situation, but given how much you love Arnold, it is no surprise that you are finding it hard to let him go." She continued. "But regardless, you have a good thing with Rodrigo. And before you get to it, he is my friend too, so this is my business. Your problem is that if you really want to let Arnold go, then you must first let your feelings for Rodrigo grow."

"Oh really?" Helga asked with a snarling face. "And what do you know of it?!" She angrily exclaimed.

"Let me show you." Rhonda responded.

Rhonda then took a few steps towards her right and then took out a remote that was, for some reason, behind her back. She then used it to turn on the stereo that was back inside the room. Music started to be heard, but it wasn't just any type of music. Then, with a determined look, Rhonda took out a microphone from behind her back and with it, began to sing.

Rhonda:

_When you see inside the earth_

_Just one way to know its worth  
When you celebrate the world  
Celebrate the world  
Come on and  
Celebrate the world  
Celebrate the world_

"Uh, what are you doing?" Helga awkwardly asked Rhonda, but she ignored her and continued to sing Ester Dean's _Let it Grow (Celebrate The World)_ song. Rhonda then leaped on top of one of the outdoor tables, allowing everyone to view her and continued to sing the lyrics.

Rhonda:

_All you gotta do,  
All you gotta do is live your life  
Be true, live your life, be true  
Never be afraid, never be afraid to grow, grow_

Just then, Nadine suddenly stepped into the spotlight and joined Rhonda, much to Helga's confusion and awkwardness.

Nadine:

_It don't matter how you felt it  
You're sure not, you should let it  
_

Rhonda and Nadine:

_Let it grow, let it grow_

_Let the love inside you show it  
Just one way to know you're worth it  
Let it grow, let it grow_

Then suddenly, Sheena and Lila both stepped in and began to sing.

_You gotta be joking..._Helga thought, now getting even more awkward.

Sheena and Lila:

_Just believe and you're almost there  
Use your heart to show you care  
Come on and celebrate the world  
Celebrate the world  
Come on and  
Celebrate the world  
Celebrate the world_

And finally, Phoebe then walked towards the singing teens and also began to sing, much to Helga's and everyone else's surprise.

"Phoebe, not you too!" Helga exclaimed, who was now becoming so awkward that she was actually blushing!

Phoebe:

_All you gotta do,  
All you gotta do is live your life  
Be true, live your life, be true  
Never be afraid, never be afraid to grow, grow_

Rhonda, Nadine, Sheena, Lila and Phoebe:

_It don't matter how you felt it  
You're sure not, you should let it  
Let it grow, let it grow_

_Let the love inside you show it  
Just one way to know you're worth it  
Let it grow, let it grow_

Helga said nothing and just continued to frown at them with her arms crossed.

_Rhonda:_

_It's your turn now  
To show your world now  
Open up your heart and let it grow_

_It's your turn now  
To show your world now  
Open up your heart and let it grow_

Rhonda, Nadine, Sheena, Lila and Phoebe:

_It don't matter how you felt it  
You're sure not, you should let it  
Let it grow, let it grow_

_Let the love inside you show it  
Just one way to know you're worth it  
Let it grow, let it grow_

As soon as the song ended, Rhonda leaped down from the table while breathing a bit heavily. Then suddenly,

_It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you  
But when we are apart, I feel it too  
And no matter what I do, I feel the pain  
With or without you..._

*click*

"Oops, hehehehe. Forgot to turn it off." Rhonda said with a nervous smile.

Helga said nothing and just continued to stare at her.

"What? They are a classic." Rhonda protested.

"Sure. We'll go with that." Helga responded nonchalantly.

Helga was not at all surprised that Rhonda was into NSYNC.

"Anyways," Rhonda began to say, "That's all I wanted to say. You don't have to say anything to us. Just think about it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Helga said with an almost irritated tone.

Rhonda then looked at the time on her iphone and with a dreaded look on her face,

"Oh my god! It's past 6:30pm!" She yelled. "We were supposed to meet up with the boys at 7pm!"

"Typical..." Helga muttered.

"Come on ladies! We need to get back inside and get ready! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Rhonda exclaimed with a commanding voice and not waiting for anyone, ran back into the room to prepare herself. Everyone else soon followed suit and ran back inside the room. Helga also made her way into the room, but she was in no hurry.

_Ugh, as awkward as that was...Phoebe and Rhonda have a point._ She thought. _I can't just force myself to let Arnold go. It's self-defeating if I just concentrate on that. I should instead just focus on my feelings and relationship with Rodrigo. If I do that, with time, I should be able to finally let him go...I hope._

Helga sighed as she slowly made her way back into the room. As much as she wanted this relationship to work out, she wasn't sure if her feelings would ever be free from Arnold's grip. Her love for the football head had become such a huge part of her life that she was doubtful if she could ever depart from him. The worst part about all of this is that Arnold wasn't even trying to influence her. It's all in her head! She could only hope for the best.

_I can't be pessimistic about this._ She thought. _I have to hope for the best. I really like Rodrigo and I am happy being with him. He makes me happy. He is no Arnold, but that is irrelevant. Arnold's gone ,doing his own thing in San Lorenzo and I am here, NOT alone. I have something to look forward to, a potential new life with someone, and I'm going to take it! No more waiting.!_

With a determined look, Helga then ran back inside the room to get herself ready in time to see her boyfriend.

**Later that evening...**

A limousine soon pulled over the main entrance of the school. Rhonda, Phoebe, Nadine, Sheena, Lila and Helga quickly came out and made their way inside the building.

"Thanks Chester! I'll call you when were done!" Rhonda frantically said to her butler before making their way.

They were late. The school dance had already started. One could not only hear the music, but also the strong vibration of the walls bouncing due to the high volume and clubbing beats. It's as if the entire building was partying!

The girls wasted no time and immediately headed towards the main lunchroom, trying to run in their high or somewhat high heels. Due to the weather now being very warm, all ladies were wearing dresses. Rhonda and Lila were wearing somewhat short dresses. Each had a distinctive dress colour. Rhonda wore a rather dark, rosy red dress. Lila wore a bright, light green dress. Phoebe had a blue dress with a veil that went over her shoulders. Sheena wore a white dress with colourful flowers. Nadine wore a dark, but somewhat sparkly green dress. Finally, Helga wore a pink dress.

Upon, reaching the entrance door, they saw Gerald and Eugene outside, waiting for them.

"Finally you guys made it!" Gerald exclaimed annoyingly.

"Sorry we're late." Rhonda said while panting. "We were delayed."

"I'm sure." Gerald said sarcastically.

"Hi ladies!" Eugene said in his usual happy tone. "All of you look so beautiful tonight."

"Thank you Eugene. You're such a sweetheart." Rhonda said with a smile.

"Where's everyone else?" Lila asked.

"They are all inside, having fun." Gerald casually explained with a smirk. "Rodrigo especially. Hehehe, he couldn't wait for you guys to show up. The second we arrived, he went inside. Obviously, because the school dance just started, no one was really dancing, but that didn't stop him. He grabbed one of his dancing buddies who was there and immediately went to the middle of the dance floor and started dancing. That stirred the few people that there to join in. That kid sure know how to whip up a crowd."

"Really?" Helga asked with a suspicious look. "Is he dancing with anyone now?"

"No one, last time I checked, which was about a minute ago." Gerald said. "Phoebe girl, you look ravishing tonight." He said to her as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

Phoebe just blushed and giggled.

"Well, since we are all here, shall we everyone?" Rhonda said as she invited everyone to go inside.

"Yes, let's." Nadine said excitedly.

It was just in time too. A new music was just starting to play as they entered the party room; Pitbull and T-Pain's _Hey Baby._

_Let her go  
If your girl wanna play, let her go, so let her go (la la la la)  
If your girl wanna play, let her go, so let her go (la la la la)  
If your girl wanna play, let her go, so let her go (la la la la)  
_

_If your girl wanna play, let her go_

_Hey baby girl what you doin' tonight  
I wanna see what you got in store  
Ha hey baby, givin' it you all when you're dancin' on me  
I wanna see if you give me some more  
Ha hey baby, you can be my girl I can be your man  
And we can pump this jam however you want  
Ha hey baby, pump it from the side pump it upside down  
Or we can pump it from the back and the front_

Everyone walked in and instantly felt the strong vibrating tunes circulating around the room. It was both annoying, but also very enticing to just join in and dance. Rhonda wasted no time and immediately started moving according to the beats; same with Nadine. As they went deeper into the room, they noticed a crowd. Gerald led the group towards that very crowd. In time, they started seeing Stinky, Harold with Patty and Sid with Carmen, whom he was grinding to the tune.

_I'm a Dade county,  
Self paid self made millionaire  
I used to play around the world  
Now I'm around the world, gettin' paid  
Girl problems, no problems  
Don't hate the game, that won't solve 'em  
I wanna get witcha mami,  
Now let me see what the lord split your lolly_

The group soon made their way towards them and greeted each other.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Sid yelled.

"Where's Rodrigo?!" Helga yelled back.

"He's at the centre of this crowd, dancing away!" Sid said as he pointed towards the centre.

Helga then made her way into the crowd, pushing through it without a care. When she finally reached the centre, she saw Rodrigo, Gabriela and Sebastian dancing, separately but chorographically with each other. The crowd cheering them on as they also danced to the beat, with some couples grinding each other, while others simply dancing by themselves.

Helga just stood there watched her boyfriend. She was in no hurry for him to see her. Although still not very thrilled that she was 'forced' to attend this so-called 'party', Helga couldn't help but feel the music once again going straight into her body, enticing her to dance. But she was too focused on watching Rodrigo dance to do that at the moment. Rather impressed, she looked on the way he danced; it was filled with so much passion and energy, not to mention that he was very good at it. He was very much alive and she could tell that he was in his 'happy' moment; he was smiling and laughing.

_Hey baby, ooh baby baby, la la la la la la la (ah-ha)  
Ooh baby baby, la la la la la la la (ah-ha)  
Ooh baby baby, la la la la la la la (ah-ha)  
Ooh baby baby, la la la la la la la (ha-hey baby)_

_Ooh drop it to the floor, make you wanna say (hey baby)  
Yeah you can shake some more, make me wanna say (hey baby)  
Ooh you got it, 'cause you make me wanna say (hey baby)  
Yeah don't stop it, 'cause you make me wanna say_

As she continued watching, she started becoming somewhat envious of him. Here was this kid who, in many ways like her, was beaten and bruised by the harshness of life. And yet unlike her, he didn't let these serious pitfalls take over his life. Rather, he used it as a springboard to actually enjoy the benefits that life also provided; an approach that Helga for most of her life, was only now starting to accept. In many ways, he was just as optimistic as Arnold and perhaps that's why she liked him. Not because she reminded him of Arnold, but because she likes guys who are optimistic.

_I cannot imagine what would happen if I got together with someone who is pessimistic, if not cynical as I._ She thought. _I probably would have ended up killing myself._

_Ooh drop it to the floor, make you wanna say (hey baby)  
Yeah you can shake some more, make me wanna say (hey baby)  
Ooh you got it, 'cause you make me wanna say (hey baby)  
Yeah don't stop it I want you tonight_

Finally the song ended, providing a brief respite. The crowd cheered at the three teens that just danced and slowly started dispersing. Rodrigo happily shook hands with Sebastian and hugged Gabriela, congratulating each other. Just then, Rodrigo looked over and saw Helga standing there with her usual stoic facial expressions.

Rodrigo went up to her.

"Hey, you finally made it!" He said to her.

"Yeah, we were delayed a bit." Helga said. "Nice dancing there."

"Thanks." Rodrigo said.

Rodrigo then took a step back to examine Helga.

_Wow!_ He thought.

"What?!" Helga asked, as another song was just starting.

"Te ves tan bonita, Helga!" (You look so beautiful, Helga!) Rodrigo remarked with a smile. "Muy linda!" (Very pretty!)

Helga had a typical pink dress with black, high heels, making her a bit taller than Rodrigo. She also had some red lipstick. The only major difference was that her blonde hair was completely down, with a part of it covering a small portion of her face.

Helga just smiled at him. Rodrigo then gently grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"You don't need to get all mushy on me!" She retorted.

"Why? Do I make you nervous?" He asked her teasingly.

Helga said nothing and just rolled her eyes at his cockiness.

"Venga. A que bailer!" (Come. Let's dance!) He said as he led her back to where their friends were.

Upon arriving, instead of instantly going behind and grind her, he opted first to dance while facing each other, even though it was not consistent with the song that was being played. This suited Helga just fine, as she was not really sure how she felt about being grinded, even if it was her boyfriend.

However, as the evening went on, Helga started loosening up and got more and more in tuned with the music, with Rodrigo, with the crowd and just started having fun. Pretty soon, she was smiling and moved sideways.

Rodrigo, noticing this, wanted to take a little initiative and went in a bit closer to her and then slowly went around her, until he was completely behind her. Rodrigo made sure she was fully aware of what he was doing. The last thing he wanted was to surprise and startle her. He figured that if she didn't want him to, she would halt him. She did not. Although completely in tuned with dancing, she was aware of what he was trying to do, but made no attempt to stop him. If anything, she wanted him to! Eventually, he started to gently grind her, but did not force her to get too closer to her, unless she wanted to.

Completely immersed in the music, chemistry and adrenaline, Helga completely let go of herself and succumbed to everything, allowing Rodrigo to guide her. First the first time, she was no longer afraid of letting someone or something lead her somewhere. She just let it go. Noticing that there was a bit of space between herself and Rodrigo, Helga grabbed his arms and pulled him towards her, closing the gap.

For a few songs, the couple continued to swing their lower bodies side to side, while holding onto each other's hands, with their upper bodies closely touching each other. Feeling not only a bit sexual, but also safe around Rodrigo's arms, Helga was so immersed into her environment that she completely lost track of time. In her mind, it did not exist. There was no past or future; it was only now. After a long while, she felt completely at peace and was enjoying every minute of it.

Eventually the fourth song ended, allowing the couple to stop dancing for a bit and face each other. But they had little time for respite, as another, this time a familiar song began to start.

"Hey, that's our song!" Rodrigo said jokingly.

"That's not our song!" She protested.

It had never been a song that she fancied. She liked the music and the rhythm; she just detested the lyrics. But, it did hold some special significance to them. It was the first song they danced to. It was a remix of _A Que No Te Atreves_ by Tito El Bambino Ft Chencho (Juan Alcaraz Mambo Remix).

_Welcome To The Remix!  
(You!)  
Tito "El Bambino"  
(Tito "El Bambino")  
(na na na na na, na na na na)  
El Patrrrrron!  
(La Sociedad Del Dinero)  
Chencho!  
(Capitan Yandel)  
Sin Miedo, (Come On!)_

"Still...!" Rodrigo said and with a smile, extended his hand, offering to dance with her the song that 'brought them together'.

Helga just stood there and stared at Rodrigo and his hand, seemingly hesitating, but she wasn't doing that at all. She was reflecting. She realized that everything had come full circle. She felt she was back to where it all started, where life seemingly on the verge of forgetting her, instead gave her this chance to start over, to move on, to be happy, if she so chooses. Rodrigo was that chance, that opportunity to be happy with not just herself, but also in her own life. Here finally, was a way out. With him standing there, he wasn't just offering to dance with her; he was offering her another way, a new way forward. But more than that, it was a challenge, a challenge to get up and remove herself from that dark shadow of despair, loss and emptiness that hung over her all of those years. Now was her chance to finally cast that all away and to let something new grow. She only needed to choose to follow it with all of her heart, if her heart desired it and him. Taking that challenge, Helga smiled back and took it.

_A que no te atreves, a bailar conmigo, y a decirle a él que somos más que amigos...  
__tu y yo..._

_**English Translation: (How could you not come and dance with me, and tell him that we are more than friends...**_

_**You and I)**_

But then instantly pulled him towards her rather hard, causing him to almost lose his balance, but she caught him just in time and with a determined look,

"So, you wanna dance, Latino boy?" She rhetorically asked him with a mischievous smile.

"Always." He softly replied back to her with his own smile.

"Then let's dance!" She said and pulled him again towards her.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed.

_A que no te atreves, írtele de frente  
y decirle a él que tú me perteneces...  
que tu eres mía...  
__**English Translation: (How could you not say to him in his face that you are part of me…that you are mine…)**_

_Tu y yo, bailando hacemos el amor con ropa...  
tu y yo... (x2)  
__**English Translation: (You and me, dancing and making love with our clothes on…)**_

_De lejos se nota la química  
las ganas son verídicas  
aquel mundo se entere que tu eres única  
atracción física, triplicar la rítmica  
a tu sentido provoca atender mi necesidad_

_**English Translation: **__**(From afar our chemistry is noticed,**_

_**our wants are truthful**_

_**from which the world realized that are you unique**_

_**physically attractive, tripling the rythem**_

_**your sensations attends to my necessity)**_

_Y cuando nos vamos aparte...  
le digo cositas que enamoren...  
y si es posible regalo flores...  
eso le gusta y acompañarla  
con botellas de Rose Rose.  
__**English Translation: (And when we are apart**_

_**I'll say little loving things **_

_**and if possible bring her flowers**_

_**she will like that and accompanied**_

_**with Rose Rose wine bottles)**_

_Y cuando nos vamos aparte...  
le digo cositas que enamoren...  
y si es posible regalo flores...  
eso le gusta y acompañarla  
con botellas de Rose Rose  
__**English Translation: (And when we are apart**_

_**I'll say little loving things **_

_**and if possible bring her flowers**_

_**she will like that and accompanied**_

_**with Rose Rose wine bottles)**_

_Tu y yo, bailando hacemos el amor con ropa...  
tu y yo... (x2)_

_**English Translation: (You and me, dancing and making love with our clothes on…)**_

_Me gusta tenerla cerca de mi  
y en la lenta acariciarla, descontrolarla  
por la cintura agarrarla y torturarla  
en un rincón hacerla duro, castigarla  
__**English Translation: (I love having her close to me**_

_**and slowly caress her, making her succumb to me**_

_**on her hips I'll grab and torture her**_

_**doing it hard on the side, punishing her)**_

_Es como un duelo  
pa' provocarme pone sus manos en el suelo  
y ahí es cuando más le pego y la anhelo  
y la deseo, cuando la nena acelera no tiene freno  
(no, no, no)  
__**English Translation: (It's painful**_

_**to provoke me she'll put her hands on the floor**_

_**and that's when I'll catch her and long for her**_

_**and my desire, when my baby accelerates, it cannot be stopped)**_

_Lo mío y lo de ella  
es mas placer que amor, difícil es olvidarse  
de su cuerpo y la manera de menearse  
y de entregarse, se lo disfruta  
y no quiere despegarse cuando  
__**English Translation: (What I have with her,**_

_**it's more pleasure than love, difficult to forget**_

_**her body and the way she moves**_

_**and the way she delivers herself, she enjoys it**_

_**I don't want to be away from her when)**_

_Tu y yo, bailando hacemos el amor con ropa...  
tu y yo..._

_**English Translation: (You and me, dancing and making love with our clothes on…)**_

_Tu y yo, bailando hacemos el amor con ropa...  
__tu y yo... (x2)  
__**English Translation: (You and me, dancing and making love with our clothes on…)**_

_Chencho Corleone  
El Capitan Yandel  
El Patrrron!  
(Tito "El Bambino")  
Yandel!  
(Fino Como El Haze)  
(Jajajaja)  
La Leyenda!  
Llegaron Los Del Rating  
El Patrrron!  
Ay Society  
(Chencho!)  
La Alta Jerarquia  
(Tito!)  
Leroy  
(Fino Como El Haze)  
(Hey!)  
Sencillamente La Sociedad Del Dinero  
Los Ricos Y Famosos  
Alta Jerarquia_

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Well, I'd say things seem to be going pretty well for Rodrigo and Helga. If you guys thought these 14 chapters were easy going, with little way of suspense, heartbreaks and excitement, well you are right. It was intentional. This is essentially the calm...before the storm.**

**Again, this is not the final chapter of this story. I will be putting this story intentionally on hold so I can then write another story, so far titled 'Hey Arnold: Civil War' (unless I can come up with another title) that will take place after the events of my other story, 'Arnold's Legacy', which this story takes places after the events of the first 14 chapters in this story. After I am done writing and posting 'Hey Arnold: Civil War', I will then come back to this story and finish it off, as we will then see how Rodrigo and Helga's relationship has been affected, if at all, by the events in 'Hey Arnold: Civil War".**

**Oh, did I mention that in the story, 'Hey Arnold: Civil War', Arnold comes back as one of the main characters?! SPOILERS!**

**Also please note, I kind of tweaked the lyrics of Ester Dean's song, but the great majority of it is still original.**

**For the last song 'A Que no Te atrevez', I tried to translate it as best as I could. I focused more on the literally translating it rather than making it rhythm. The lyrics are bit strong and may need to be change, but I love the music and I really think it goes well with the theme. It has a strong Latin flavour, but it is also a bit funky and, lol, this may be a theme song. Not sure what everyone else thinks.**

**Just so you are clear with the sequence of the storyline, here is a breakdown of the stories that I have written and where each supposed to be read first:**

**1 - Helga's Transference**

**2 - Helga's Confession**

**3 - A New Life (First 14 chapters) **

**4 - Arnold's Legacy**

**5 - Hey Arnold: Civil War**

**6- going back to 'A New Life' (Chapters 15 and up)**


End file.
